■■ 



AROUND THE WORL 



■E I) W A R D f 




Glass GcHi££L 

Book . (-f % 

GqpigM? 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 








E. C. Horn. 



Around the World 

A NARRATIVE OF A 

TOUR OF THE EARTH 

SETTING FORTH THE 

EXPERIENCES OF ONE WHO RECENTLY MADE 
THE TRIP ALONE 

With Historical and Descriptive Data 



By 

EDWARD C. HORN 

Pastor of Trinity M. E. Church, Grand Island, Nebraska 

Formerly Instructor in the U. S. Grant University, Athens, Tennessee, and 
in the De Pauw University, Greencastle, Indiana 

Author of "The Mazes and Marvels of Wind Cave," Etc. 



5lltt3tt3i3ti 



CINCINNATI 
PRESS OF JENNINGS AND PYE 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Gooies Received 

APR 25 1904 

Copyright Entry 

'"' 1 -cw- M — 1 <K0 ^ 
CLASS <*- XXc. No. 

5 ' 1 1 I 
COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, by 
Edward C. Horn 



^ 



" For not to any race or any clime 

Is the completed sphere of life revealed ; 
He who would make his own that round sublime, 
Must pitch his tent on many a distant field P 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/aroundworldnarra01horn 



INTRODUCTION. 

The experiences related in these chapters, with few 
exceptions, were reduced to paper the day they occurred. 
Historical matter presented herein was gathered from all 
available sources, credit being given by reference to vol- 
ume and page for most excerpts. The author is under 
special obligation to the following for assistance ren- 
dered : Guides of F. C. Clark, Macmillan, Henry Gaze 
& Son, and Thos. Cook & Son ; also to Dr. Andrew Gray 
for copies of some electrotypes used in illustrating his 
"Pilgrimage to Bible Lands." The consecrated mission- 
aries of Japan, China, the Philippines, Maylasia, India, 
Egypt, and Turkey will be held in lasting remembrance 
for their many untold kindnesses extended, punctuating 
an otherwise weary pilgrimage with oases of interest. 

Being under exclusive contract with the Alliance Her- 
ald as its "Around the World" represenative, numerous 
courtesies were extended by the press, by our consuls, 
and by the officials of transportation lines throughout 
the thirty- thousand-mile journey, space forbidding in- 
dividual mention. K. C. H. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

I. Crossing the Continent, - - - n 

II. San Francisco to Vancouver, - - 28 

III. Crossing the Pacific, - - - 36 

IV. Japan, - .... - 52 
V. China, - - - - - - - ■ - 80 

VI. China — The International Puzzle, 92 

VII. The Philippines, ----- 104 

VIII. China Revisited, - - - 121 

IX. Hong-Kong to Ceyeon, -'-'.-- 130 

X. Colombo to Calcutta, - - - 150 

XI. India, ------- x 6i 

XII. Calcutta to I/ucknow, - - - 169 

XIII. IyUCKNOw to Delhi, - - . - - 183 

XIV. Delhi to Bombay, - - "- - 195 

XV. Bombay to Port Said, - 205 

7 



8 Contents. 

Chapter Page 

XVI. Egypt, - - - - 218 

XVII. Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles 

Up the Nile, - - - 237 

XVIII. Cairo to Jerusalem, - - - 248 

XIX. Jerusalem — The Holy City, - 259 

XX. Jerusalem to Jericho and 

Bethlehem, ----- 2 86 

XXI. Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee, 296 

XXII. Nazareth to Damascus, - 312 

XXIII. Damascus to Athens, - - 325 

XXIV. Athens to Rome, - - - "- 332 
XXV. Rome to London, ... - 338 

XXVI. Crossing the Atlantic, - - - 346 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

/ 

Portrait of Author, - - Frontispiece. 

Facing page 

jlnriksha, tokio, japan, - "56 

Aboard the Begging Elephant, Madura, India, 154 

A Bengali Child-Mother, India, - - 166 < 

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India, - - - - 186 . 

Half-way up the Great Pyramid, - 220 

On the Great Sahara, ----- 228 "' 

The Sphinx, or "Father of Terrors," with 

Pyramids in the Background, - - 230 " 

Jerusalem, -------- 258- 

The Garden of Gethsemane, - - 266 y 

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jeru- 
salem, -------- 272 

The Holy Sepulchre, - - - - 274 

The Mosque of Omar, on Site of Solomon's 

Temple, Jerusalem, ----- 278 

Russian Greek Church on the Mount of 

Olives, ------- 284 

The Grotto of the Nativity, Bethlehem, - 292 

Nazareth, ------- 300 v 

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece, - - - 328 

9 



AROUND THE WORLD. 
I. 

CROSSING THE CONTINENT. 

the; journey begun. — via denver; royae gorge. — can- 
yon OF THE GRAND. — SAI/f EAKE TO SAN FRANCISCO. 

From the copper-toed days of my boyhood, tales of 
travel have been the very soul of fascination to my ven- 
turesome spirit. Having read all the books on travel 
available within a considerable radius from my Ohio 
home, I sought interviews with every man I could reach 
who had crossed any State line, or could relate thrilling 
stories of adventure on the part of others. My curiosity to 
know more of the world was augmented by the recital 
of weird stories by an old Mexican soldier who visited 
us about the time of my graduation from the First to the 
Second Reader. His renditions produced in me a long- 
ing similar to that possessed by the poet who wrote: 

"O for an old gray traveler 

By our winter fire to be, 
To tell us of each, foreign shore, 
Of sunny seas, and mountains hoar, 

Which we can never see ! 

And O, that such old man were here, 

With his wise and traveled look, 
With thought like deep exhaustless springs, 
And memory full of wondrous things, 

Ivike a glorious picture-book !" 
ii 



12 Around the World. 

As nothing short of a tour of the earth offered me 
any degree of satisfaction, I decided to attempt the task 
regardless of the expense and other difficulties which 
towered before me. 

Consequently the successful carrying forward of my 
plans made it possible for me to bid farewell to Alli- 
ance at 3.40 Thursday morning, October 16th, while 
Victor was sleeping soundly unconscious of the fact that 
his papa was kissing him good-bye and beginning the 
largest undertaking in the realm of travel possible to 
man without embarking upon that better journey lead- 
ing to a country whence no traveler returns. 

The young wife evinced bravery by withstanding the 
avalanche of tears due to be observed on such an occasion. 
She was cognizant of the danger confronting me; but 
her noble Christian life and devotion to the God she 
serves, long ago taught her that my trust was in the God 
of the psalmist — a God which doeth all things well, though 
at times our shortsightedness fails to penetrate beyond 
the overhanging clouds of gloom which often encompass 
our horizon. 

" If I take the wings of the morning, 
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; 
Even there shall Thy hand lead me, 
And Thy right hand shall hold me." 

The ride into Colorado was without incident, with 
the following exceptions : The train was two hours be- 
hind time, and contained a bridal party which was forced 
to endure much additional pandemonium at the hands 
of the Alliance youths on account of the lateness of the 
train. Approaching Denver, the sUn, rising toward its 
meridian height, darted its rays athwart the snow-capped 
Rockies and kissed them into glistening splendor. The 
passengers crowd to the right side of the car to behold 



Crossing the Continent. 1 3 

the majestic snowdrifts piercing the very heavens with 
their snow-crested summits. There is Pike's Peak, eighty 
miles to the southward, rising as a giant guardian of the 
white flock, basking in perpetual rest, with its topmost 
rock 14,147 feet above sea-level. Yet it is not the highest 
of the Rocky family, there being twenty-five other peaks 
that rival it in height. Divorced from its grand moun- 
tain scenery, Denver takes high rank as a city. I shall 
not attempt to describe its numerous institutions of note, 
its smelters, wholesale houses, factories, colleges, churches, 
and sanitariums. One person has named Denver the "City 
of Consumptives," because of the multitude of consump- 
tives who come here for relief. 

Those whose time is limited can cover this city of 
one hundred and fifty thousand souls reasonably well in a 
few hours' ride on the special car called "Seeing Denver," 
which leaves the union depot on Seventeenth Street daily 
at two o'clock for the grand tour of the city. The circuit 
covers twenty-five miles, and the charge is twenty- 
five cents. A lecturer accompanies the car and points out 
objects of interest, giving, in addition thereto, a very good 
description of that which is most noteworthy. 

Leaving Denver via the Rio Grande Railroad, the 
route leads southward along the Rocky Mountain foothills, 
in plain view, however, of many towering peaks. This 
line is very properly called "the scenic line of the world." 

Passing Palmer Lake, Colorado Springs is reached, 
where nature grows wild, as evinced in the Garden of 
the Gods. Here strange freaks of nature's handicraft 
present to the tourist much that is quaint as well as gro- 
tesque, causing speculation as to how the formations were 
produced. 

Not less than fourteen hundred feet up the side of 
Pike's Peak is the Cave of the Winds, a wonder which is 



i4 



Around the World. 



the pride of Colorado, but a curiosity that becomes a 
dwarf when compared with Wind Cave of South Da- 
kota. I told the guide he would be ready to change his 
adjectives used in his description as soon as his eyes 
beheld the most noteworthy cave in America, the northern 
wonder. From Pike's Peak the view is never to be for- 
gotten. The Rockies seem to roll away like the waves of 
an angry ocean, with whitecaps stationary and white- 
caps rolling in the form of clouds, as if hurrying to some 
distant place of rest. 

The next point en route westward is Pueblo, the Pitts- 
burg of the West, so called on account of its numerous 
smelters, iron and steel works stretching along the Ar- 
kansas River. Having run over one hundred miles south- 
ward from Denver, in order to break through the moun- 
tains, the track now turns to the westward, follows the 
canyon of the Arkansas, thence over the Great Divide 
into the Canyon of the Grand, and on over the Wasatch 
Mountains into the Utah Valley. 

For a considerable distance the road threads its 
crooked way along the Arkansas, where the walls tower 
on either side more than three thousand feet. This is 
called the Royal Gorge, and here it is that the genius 
of the builder scores its highest triumph. Here the word- 
painter excuses himself, and says, "Let nature alone in her 
vastness." But what if a bowlder should become loosened 
and come crashing down from yonder craggy height of 
more than half a mile? A bowlder falling from such 
a dizzy height would crush a locomotive to worse than 
a scrap-heap. One is thrilled and chilled as he contem- 
plates the vasteness of this deep, rock-riven, river-encom- 
passed gorge. But why not let the river have full posses- 
sion, and not disturb its plaintive murmur by introducing 
the loud-screeching, panting, and puffing locomotive? 



Crossing the Continent. 15 

Such would have been well, but not the best. And now 
not only the Denver and Rio Grande follows this natural 
thoroughfare, but the Colorado Southern also uses a part 
of this vale as an outlet toward the land of the setting sun. 
The day I made the journey the trains of both roads were 
very late and by some unknown cause two splendid passen- 
ger trains were making their way side by side. Now the 
opportunity was given for a race. Each road had boasted 
of its ability to make the best time. Here was a chance. 
The engineers saw the opportunity. The firemen worked 
like Titans, heaving coal that the engines might do their 
utmost. The iron horses puffed, straining every nerve 
and muscle; the passengers filled the windows of the 
respective trains ; handkerchiefs waved in the air to en- 
courage the enginemen, who glanced back now and then 
to see if their trains were coming ; mail clerks noticed the 
situation, and each wished for the success of his own 
train. It was a race. The trains flew ahead. Sharp 
curves were rounded ; tunnels were threaded ; steep grades 
were ascended ; now one train was away below, only a few 
feet from the angrily-roaring river ; the next few minutes 
witnessed the same train crawling its serpentine way far 
up the mountain-side, half hidden from view by the rolling 
smoke of the two iron steeds, which poured forth 
black clouds that now and then coming quite close 
to each other, seemed to join into one mass and darken 
the race-course. Brave hearts, which had exulted until 
now, swooned when, at an unexpected moment, the Col- 
orado Southern train seemed to leap the track and plunge 
squarely at our train. But recovery was complete when 
it was noticed that the other track led directly over our 
track, and, instead of plunging into our train, the engine 
crossed directly over the car in which I was sitting, and 
sped on, having tied our train for the honors. Thereupon 



1 6 Around the World. 

our conductor manifested regret because our engineer did 
not win the race, saying: "If we should have had any 
other engineer on the road at our engine, we would have 
taken the lead, as our huge compound engine can outrun 
anything on the other road, even if we have the heavier 
train by three sleepers and a diner." I was glad we had 
that very engineer, for a mountain pass, with a river 
below and towering mountains above, is not an ideal place 
for speeding a vestibuled train of human freight. 

The poet Ferguson pays the following poetic tribute 
to the Royal Gorge : 

" In the Royal Gorge I stand, 

With its mountain forms around me, 
With infinity behind me and infinity before ; 

Cliff and chasm on every hand, 

Peaks and pinnacles surround me ; 
At my feet the river rushes with its never-ceasing roar. 

O, the Power that piled these wonders, 

As the mountains took their station, 
As the great red belt rose upward in a glittering zone of fire. 

O, the crash of blended thunders 

Shaking earth to its foundation, 
As each struggling cliff rose upward, climbing higher, ever higher. 

O, the crashing and the groaning, 
And the deep an awful shudder 
As that great red belt was parted and the mountains crashed in 
twain ; 
And the Arkansas came roaring, 
Raging with its dreadful thunder, 
Sweeping through the mighty chasm dashing madly towards the 
main. 

O, this myriad-crested canyon, 

With its walls of massive marble, 
With the granite and red sandstone piled in peaks that pierce the 
sky; 

Where no bird dare dip its pinion 

In the narrow veil of azure, 
Where the solemn shadows linger o'er the river rolling by. 



Crossing the Continent. 17 

Mortal ! ere you enter here, 

Pause and bare thy brow before Him, — 
You are entering a temple which the Mighty One did rear. 

Put thy shoes from off thy feet, 

And with sacred awe adore him, — 
Throned in awful might and majesty, the Great One dwelleth here.' 

As we approached the summit of the Rockies the air 
became more rare, and, with many, breathing became 
difficult. One portly man afflicted with asthma was al- 
most overcome. In fact, at one time he was pronounced 
beyond hope of recovery, and it was even announced by 
the physician that he was dead; but behold him recover 
as the descent was being made, and a real man remains as 
a subject snatched almost from the hands of the under- 
taker. 

Much there is on a mountain journey to interest, much 
to call forth expressions of surprise and appreciation. 

The geologist may here revel in glee as he observes 
unmistakable evidences of the earth's formation and age. 
As the train enters the Canyon of the Grand River, one 
can do little else than remain quiet and drink in as much 
beauty as his little cup will hold, and then close his eyes 
because of his inability to comprehend the scene. 

Mr. Warman paid the following poetic tribute to the 
Canyon of the Grand : 

" When I rhyme about the river, — the laughing, limpid stream, 
Whose ripples seem to shiver as they glide and glow and gleam ; 
Of the waves that beat the bowlders that are strewn upon the 

strand. — 
You will recognize the river in the Canyon of the Grand. 

When I write about the mountains with their heads so high and 

hoar, 
Of cliffs and craggy canyons where the waters rush and roar ; 
When I speak about the the hills that rise so high on either hand, 
You recognize the rock-work in the Canyon of the Grand, 
2 



1 8 Around the World. 

God was good to make the mountains, the valleys, and the hills, 
Put the rose upon the cactus and the ripple on the rills ; 
But if I had all the words of all the world at my command, 
I could n't paint a picture of the Canyon of the Grand." 

Passing many points of interest, let us pass over the 
less elevated Wasatch range and enter Salt Lake City, the 
City of the Saints. This city is known the world over on 
account of its being the Zion of Mormonism. Converts 
to the faith from nearly every nation flock here to spend 
their last days at this Mecca. On Sunday afternoon 
I joined the throng that hurried to the great turtle-shaped 
tabernacle erected by Brigham Young, and heard two ser- 
mons, supposed to set forth the excellencies of Mormon- 
ism, but which, in my opinion, were very weak utterances 
of the most trivial trash. The first speaker said he 
had been a Mormon for fifty years ; but the number of 
wives he had domiciled during that time and still lived, 
he neglected to state. He was baldheaded as a broom- 
handle ; his mustache was as gray as the frosts of Green- 
land's icy shores ; yet he was very presentable, and no 
doubt had been the center of affection of many a blooming 
maiden who was willing to show her unselfishness by shar- 
ing the queenly position of wifehood with as many other 
heroines as his fancy and purse might attract within his 
threshold. ' He tried to persuade his auditors, numbering 
about eight thousand, that Mormonism is a Divine institu- 
tion, because when their crops fifty years ago were about 
to be destroyed by crickets, the Father send gulls to 
destroy the pesky crickets, and the crop was saved. His 
reasoning was lame. Those identical gulls also ate the 
crickets that molested the grazing grounds of the Indians 
who were after Mormon scalps ; hence, according to the 
speaker's own logic, the savagery of the Indians must 
have been Divinely appointed and maintained because of 
the mission of the gulls. 



Crossing the Continent. io 

The second speaker's story was as faulty as that of 
the first speaker. The story of either held water about 
like a fish-net. The main point set forth by the latter and 
younger Cicero of the platform was, that the Mormon 
revelation was up-to-date, having come to earth a little 
more than fifty years ago through Joseph Smith, et al. 
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were pictured as 
angels shorn of their wings. He did not refer to Brigham 
Young's multitudinous wives as angelesses, because the 
least imaginative mind has no difficulty in observing the 
Bee-hive in a turmoil as the pillow fights between favorite 
wives filled the air with the downy white of birds slaugh- 
tered to feed the preacher-apostle, who, no doubt, went 
v into hiding at the outset of each fracas to avoid sitting 
as a board of arbitration to decide upon the merits of 
the case. 

Whatever is said in criticism of Mormonism, and 
a bookful can be marshalled against it, it neverthe- 
less remains true that some things may be said in its 
favor. It has been the chief agent in transforming a 
desert wild into a beautiful city of sixty-five thousand 
souls. 

Salt Lake City, the child of Mormonism, has one hun- 
dred miles of streets, each one hundred and thirty-two feet 
wide, and the blocks are six hundred and sixty feet square. 
In the heart of the city stands the temple, built at a cost 
of $5,000,000. Its towers and minarets rise two hundred 
and fifteen feet above the ground, and can be seen for 
miles. None but the elect are permitted to enter the tem- 
ple, and it is thought that some are curious enough to 
accept the faith in order to get a glimpse of the interior 
of that stately temple. The turtle-shaped tabernacle, ac- 
commodating ten thousand people, is only a few rods dis- 
tant, and is pronounced one of the most unique structures 



20 Around the World. 

in America. In company with a friend, I visited the taber- 
nacle before the hour for service, and though it is two 
hundred and fifty feet long, a pin dropped by the side of 
the great organ could be heard distinctly in the rear of 
the room. Its acoustic properties are said to be unequaled 
anywhere. The pipe organ contains five thousand five 
hundred pipes and cost $115,000, being the second struct- 
ure in value in the world. A chorus of five hundred 
voices sings at each service, offering a drawing card to 
the lost to come and hear the truth according to Joseph 
Smith. 

About sixteen miles from Salt Lake City is the Great 
Salt Lake, one hundred miles long and sixty wide, and 
four thousand two hundred and eighteen feet above sea- 
level. "Salt Air," a mammoth bathing pavilion, has been 
constructed about two thousand feet from shore at a 
cost of $350,000, including the electric-light plant. This 
structure has the reputation of being unsurpassed in the 
wide world. 

Bathing here is a luxury. One may float to his heart's 
content, for it is impossible to sink. The water is heavily 
charged with salt, and when once tasted will never be for- 
gotten. The lake is ten feet lower than it has been known 
for years. Old settlers are authority for the statement 
that it rises and recedes once in seventeen years. It is 
now at low tide, a condition which forces bathers to walk 
about half a mile to deep water, whereas formerly one 
could leap from the grand pavilion into seven feet of 
water. 

Having become acquainted with Salt Lake City, we 
again turn westward, eager to reach the Golden Gate. 
Crossing Nevada is as uninteresting as the lack of vege- 
tation is complete. Sand dunes greet the eye at every 
turn, compared with which the sand hills of Nebraska, 



Crossing the Continent. 21 

covered with verdant pasturage, are a paradise. Hun- 
dreds of miles may be traveled in this dreary, forsaken 
waste without sighting a living creature, other than the 
section crew and operators, who are here as hermits, 
making it possible for a railroad to tie the Atlantic and 
Pacific together in bonds of steel. But this barrenness is 
not to last always. With the eye of faith, I can see the 
East densely populated, and the young men and women 
covenanting to begin life together for better or for worse. 
With brave hearts, and a strong desire to have a home 
of their own, they press on beyond Pike's Peak and the 
Rockies to this land where one may become monarch of 
all he surveys. The pioneer is a hero upon whom the 
blessing of the Most High rests ; for Omnipotence is 
proud of the brave, and a splendid carpet will be prepared 
by Him and spread over the land, upon which the united 
hearts may find a domicile, and the cattle, horses, and 
sheep find that which their hunger craves. 

After weary hours of sameness in landscape, a treat 
is offered as the train enters the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 
The transformation is like unto leaving a penitentiary 
for an art gallery. The Sierras, covered with a dense 
growth of pines, shrubbery, etc., are more beautiful than 
the Rockies, though less awe-inspiring. If the Rockies 
are more colossal, the Sierras are more symmetrical. 

The Rockies stand as Titans, giant guardians of the 
heavens, while the Sierras are thankful for the oppor- 
tunity of looking down upon the peaceful Pacific, and of 
hiding behind a veil of mist wherever the ocean madly 
beats the shore, lashing the rocks with white caps which 
have no breakers to check their course. 

No one need be told that California is reached. It can 
not keep the secret, and tells that it is king of the West 
by using a language decidedly its own. 



22 Around the World. 

Ordinary adjectives are useless in preparing a dis- 
tant reader to properly comprehend California. To state 
that this State has the largest apple orchard in the world 
is not sufficient to convey an exact idea of its vastness. 
But the wonders of the State being so unlike those found 
elsewhere, one is handicapped in his every attempt to 
make comparisons. Maine is not a small State. But for 
the sake of comparison let us use it : 

Add to Maine the States of New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, 
Delaware, Maryland, and New York, and thoses States 
combined could be covered by California, and there would 
be enough of California unused to make a playground for 
all the children of Utah. 

With a climate that approximates the ideal, Califor- 
nia, with its splendid soil, has little to be desired. Only 
one genuine snowstorm is on record, the date being De- 
cember 31, 1882; the snow piled up to the enormous 
height of three inches and lasted scarcely one day. 
Where oranges and lemons are harvested in February and 
March, it is evident that even a freeze would be disastrous. 

This large State is noted for doing things on a large 
scale. For instance : a squash has been on exhibition 
weighing two hundred and eighty-three pounds, having 
a diameter of four feet. A sweet-potato weighing over 
forty-four pounds is the pride of Fresno. An Irish-potato 
measured forty-six inches in length and weighed thir- 
teen pounds. 

Los Angeles Countv produced a corn stalk measuring 
thirty-six feet in height. 

Orange County has a watermelon weighing one hun- 
dred and fifty pounds, and is three feet, six inches long, 
and four feet, nine inches in circumference. 



Crossing the Continent. 23 

A nugget of gold, the largest ever found in the United 
States, came from Calaveras County, and weighed one 
hundred and ninety-five pounds, valued at $43,534. 

To state that the people live well here is to state the 
case mildly. My diagnosis causes me to assert that the 
poorest live in luxury. The average annual income of the 
farmers in one county is $3,000. With such an income, 
nothing is too distant to be secured, and money will buy 
almost anything except happiness. From this port vessels 
sail for the four corners of the earth, and bring back 
whatever the industrious merchantmen think the Califor- 
nian may relish. 

Yesterday I visited the Coptic, a passenger vessel 
bound for Yokohama and Hong-Kong. It is more than 
four hundred feet long, and second only in size to the 
vessel upon which I am to sail from Vancouver, British 
Columbia, for Yokohama. 

It was sad to see mothers weeping as good-byes to 
children and friends were said prior to the moment of 
departure. Many a person was covered with flowers 
brought to the wharf by loving hands. It caused me to 
think of my own case, as I will be boarding the steel 
twin-screw palace, the Empress of Japan, and have no 
one to whom a parting good-bye can be spoken, and re- 
ceive back friendly tokens of sympathy and kindness, 
as the plunge into the mists of a fourteen-day voyage 
is made. 

I took two snap-shots at the Coptic, one while on 
board, and one facing the prow. She sailed out of the 
Golden Gate with a bone in her teeth; that is, she faced 
a heavy sea. A storm, in fact, greeted her appearance in 
deep water, and, as I now write, I can imagine her out 
battling with the waves which dash across her decks, 



24 Around the World. 

making her passengers wonder whether it will be theirs 
to sink or swim. Doubtless some of the Coptic's passen- 
gers are reminded of the words of Samuel Taylor Cole- 
ridge : 

"And now the storm-blast came, and he 
Was tyrannous and strong; 
He struck with his o'ertaking wings, 
And chased us south along. 

With sloping masts and dipping prow, 
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, 
And southward aye we fled." 

Scarcely had the Coptic gone to sea, when the Amer- 
ica Maru arrived, bearing many marks of a rough voyage. 
After leaving Yokohama she was caught in the grasp of 
one of the worst typhoons with which a ship of this line 
ever contended, and weathered. Her decks were partly 
demolished, her hospital having been almost carried away 
by the hard-pounding waves. One person was killed, and 
others were bruised until restoration by the use of arnica 
was not to be considered. In such a storm, only the most 
seasoned sailors escape seasickness. 

The Southern Pacific Railroad lands all its Eastern 
and Northern passengers at Oakland Pier, where a ferry- 
boat is taken to cross San Francisco Bay, and passengers 
are landed at the foot of Market, Street, San Francisco. 
The ride across the bay was a sufficient journey to make 
a few very much indisposed. 

Among the many points of interests to tourists is Chi- 
natown. Orientalism here reaches its zenith in America. 
The Chinese quarters embrace about twelve blocks in the 
heart of the city, and are visited by every sightseer de- 
siring to acquaint himself with Chinese life. 

I was particularly fortunate in having visited the Cliff 



Crossing the Continent. 25 

House on what mariners say was the roughest day of the 
year on the sea. The waves, driven by a roaring, driving 
sea, dashed against seal-rocks, and, leaping high in the 
air, fell in foam and spray upon the topmost rocks, which 
were covered with bellowing, howling seals, maddened by 
the wild breakers. No picture can do justice to the scene, 
as canvas can not catch up the characteristic swish of 
the ocean, and add to it the noise poured forth by the en- 
raged seals. On that day two schooners were wrecked by 
the high seas. I saw one of them. It was driven upon the 
rocks. Looking far out at sea, I could discern large sail- 
ing craft tugging at their anchors, unwilling to make the 
Golden Gate in the jaw of such a gale. Well might they 
fear, having sails only, but steam craft find the Gate easy 
to enter, regardless of what the ocean is doing. I might 
add here that the seals on Seal Island are protected by 
law, as their bellowing serves as a warning to seamen 
during high seas, at which time the bellowing of a pack 
of fox-hounds is tame compared with their uncultured 
clamor. The Maker of all had a purpose in His every 
creation. No one can commune with the ocean, and try 
to unlock its secrets, without becoming better acquainted 
with the Ocean-Maker, the God of the Bible. 

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- 
ness in waters : 

"These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in 
the deep. 

"For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, 
which lifteth up the waves thereof. 

"They mount up to the heaven, they go down again 
to the depths ; their soul is melted because of trouble. 

"They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man, 
and are at their wit's end." (Psalm cvii, 23-27.) 



26 Around the World. 

Observe Longfellow's impressions as he gazed upon 
the sea: 

"Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me 

As I gaze upon the sea! 
All the old romantic legends, 

All my dreams, come back to me, — 

Till my soul is full of longing 

For the secret of the sea, 
And the heart of the great ocean 

Sends a thrilling pulse through me." 

In the Golden Gate Park is a section of the remarkable 
California tree, the Sequoia gigantea, which measured 
three hundred and eight feet in height, ninety-six feet in 
circumference at the base, its bark two feet thick, and 
its age estimated at three thousand three hundred and 
seventy years. 

If the age estimated be correct,, that monster of the 
vegetable family was an infant when Joshua marched 
around Jericho. 

The largest mint in the world is located in this city. 
Through the hands of its chief weigher has gone all the 
money coined during the past twenty-five years, an 
amount aggregating over nine hundred million dollars, 
and not a solitary piece of money has gone astray. He 
now handles over $60,000 daily, or rather $120,000, for 
he delivers bullion to the cashier in the morning, and re- 
ceives it back coined during the day. Counting is done 
by weighing, but the little coins are both counted and 
weighed. A device is in operation by which ten thousand 
separate coins can be counted in three minutes, thus mak- 
ing it possible to count the vast output. There are now in 
the vaults of the mint over fifty million silver dollars in 
canvas sacks, each sack containing $1,000. This vast 
fortune is guarded by seventeen men, twelve serving at 



Crossing the Continent. 27 

night and five in the day-time. A system of electric 
alarms has been installed, so that all may be called in- 
stantly to one point should some desperado attempt to 
feather his nest with Uncle Sam's glittering coin, which 
is laid aside for a rainy day. 

Since its establishment in 1854, the mint has coined 
over $1,300,000,000, of which about $1,100,000,000 was 
in gold and about $200,000,000 in silver. 

Admission to the mint is free, the Secretary of the 
Treasury having provided conductors to guide visitors 
through the mint from 9 to n.30 A. M., daily, except 
Sunday. About thirty thousand persons visit the mint 
annually. 



II. 

SAN FRANCISCO TO VANCOUVER. 

THE SHASTA ROUTE — PORTLAND — SEATTLE — NECESSARY 
EQUIPMENT FOR TOURING THE WORLD — PASSPORT — 
LETTER OF CREDIT — FAREWELL TO AMERICA. 

After a six days' tour of San Francisco and environs, 
the long trip to Vancouver was begun, via the Southern, 
Northern, and Canadian Pacific lines. The Southern 
Pacific runs to Sacramento, thence northward into the 
beautiful and luxuriant Sacramento Valley, and on in its 
winding way, encircling Mount Shasta, to Portland, Ore- 
gon. If the most imaginative man had been assigned the 
task of planning mountain scenery, his ideal would 
scarcely have approached that presented by the Shasta 
route in grandeur. 

Shasta not only rises more than five hundred feet 
higher than Pike's Peak, but it lifts its snow-white crest 
at a point where no competitor is nearer than fifty miles, 
which causes it to stand out double its real height, while 
the Colorado peak is so nearly upon a level with several 
of its towering neighbors that the uninitiated are kept 
guessing as to which is the real Pike's Peak. 

Shasta Springs, at the foot of the peak, pours forth 
a torrent of health-laden waters, presenting a sight which 
brings the fast train to a halt for ten minutes in order 
that every tourist may see, and drink, and snap his 

28 



San Francisco to Vancouver. 



29 



kodak to his heart's content, even if his train is two 
hours' late. Shasta water is shipped throughout the United 
States and sold to those who find it a panacea for life's ills. 

A two hours' stop at Portland enabled us to see the 
shipping in the harbor. Thence we hastened on via the 
Northern Pacific, crossing the Columbia River by ferry, 
requiring twenty minutes, and arriving in Seattle after 
a run of two days and two nights, the greater part of the 
journey requiring two engines, and the territory adjacent 
to Shasta requiring three. In places the grade i's so steep 
that the three mountain-climbing battleships grumbled and 
growled as if anxious to give up the job of Alpine climb- 
ing to the Maker of the mountains. It requires only a few 
steps in thought to discover that the Mountain-builder 
climbs the mountains, drawing the train of human freight. 
He hid away the coal after sealing it full of potential 
energy. The coal is appropriated by man, burned in the 
furnace to heat water, which is transformed into steam ; 
the steam is then harnessed in a cylinder and compelled 
to turn the drive-wheels. Man does the most insignificant 
part; but, nevertheless, without the co-operation of man 
the wheels remain idle. Therefore, it is reasonable to 
conclude that the man who has much to do with the, iron 
horse ought to be more brave and loyal than any Knight 
of the Round Table in his fidelity to the God that planted 
the possibilities in ordinary coal and water. 

Scarcely a dozen years ago Seattle was little more than 
an Indian trading-post ; but since then it has sped forward 
by leaps and bounds until it now has a population of more 
than a tenth of a million with an up-to-date appearance, 
putting many an Eastern city to shame by comparison. 
Electric and cable cars are everywhere. Banks are in 
abundance, with enormous capital, issuing letters of credit 
on the world. Business is of sufficient importance to 



30 Around the World. 

justify eleven foreign nations in maintaining consuls here. 
One ship sailed last week carrying a cargo for Japan 
valued at almost a million dollars. Being the chief out- 
fitting depot on the Pacific coast for Alaska, her business 
men are making money at a rate that beggars description. 
Rightly may she bear the title, "Queen City of the North- 
west." 

Of all the diversified business interests, that of the 
Alaska Portable House Company is the most unique. 
This company deals in houses by retail or wholesale, 
keeping a supply on hand from which orders are filled 
and buildings delivered in a way similar to the Box Butte 
Courthouse. Here is their "for sale" ad. : "Ready-made 
schoolhouses, storerooms, hotels of one hundred rooms 
or more, dwellings one and two stories, of four, six, 
eight, or more rooms, suitable for warm or cold climate." 
All you have to do, if you have no time to call and in- 
spect, is to send for a catalogue, remit the price, with the 
number of the house you desire, and awaken the next 
morning with a one-hundred-and-fifty-room house in 
your front yard, ready for occupancy. If American in- 
genuity and enterprise meets no Waterloo, I am ready 
to read without shock the advertisement of some venture- 
some organizer stating, "Have a seat, sir. Cities made 
to order while you wait." 

I arrived in Vancouver from Seattle at 17.50 o'clock, 
or 5.50, P. M., according to the mode of measuring time 
recognized in the United States. In this possession of 
Great Britain the bothersome A. M. and P. M. are out 
of fashion, and the twenty-four hour system has posses- 
sion of the field. Hence, a printer would be guilty of 
tautology to permit a wedding invitation to appear with 
the words, "twenty o'clock in the evening;" for twenty 
o'clock can come at no other time than in the evening. 



San Francisco to Vancouver. 31 

I have no criticism to offer on the system, and would 
be pleased if it were adopted in the States. 

Here I received the first mail since my departure 
more than two weeks ago, and I assure you it did me 
a world of good. A letter from Captain F. M. Dorring- 
ton, register of the United States land office, read as if 
it had come from any bishop of any Church you might 
name. I shall never forget it. Here are a few extracts : 
"That God's protecting hand may be with you constantly 
will be the prayer of all those who pray to God and know 
you." "When you pass from the shore to the boat, 
do n't look back, but look forward in the thought that 
you are on your journey back home, but coming in at 
the other gate ; and each hour out, while taking you 
from home, is bringing you that much nearer home. 
God will be with you everywhere, and you will find 
much comfort in your communion with Him when it 
will seem to you that you are alone. You will never be 
alone with the faith that is in you." "We will await your 
coming with much anxiety and your letters will be much 
sought after. That you may have a safe and interesting 
journey will be the daily prayer." 

A few words regarding the essentials in the way of 
equipment may be advisable. First of all, a passport 
should be secured. To secure this document a letter 
should be addressed to the Secretary of State, Washing- 
ton, D. C, requesting blanks for a passport. On receiving 
the request, the State Department will forward the neces- 
sary papers to be filled out by the applicant before a notary 
public. The application must also bear the signature 
of some other responsible citizen who vouches for the 
good faith of the applicant, as the Government is par- 
ticular not to issue a passport to any one going abroad 
with evil intent, if the fact is known. The bearer of a 



32 Around the World. 

passport going abroad really has the army and navy 
ready to protect him. The document is signed by Hon. 
John Hay, Secretary of State, with the great seal of the 
United States affixed, and requests the nations of 
earth "to give him all lawful aid and protection." The 
passport bears a very complete description of its bearer, 
so that it would be of no value to any one who might steal 
it from the lawful owner. Besides the bearer's signature 
as a means of identification, it states his age, height, and 
describes his forehead, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, hair, 
face, and complexion. One dollar must be forwarded 
with the application to the Secretary of State, the amount 
of his fee for issuing and recording the passport. No 
charge is made for the application blanks. If a person 
expects to travel in Turkey or Palestine, a possession of 
Turkey, this passport must bear the visa of a Turkish 
consul, which visa can be secured through the Depart- 
ment of State at Washington, an additional charge of 
$1.25 being required by the Turkish consul for his visa. 
Turkey, Russia, Roumania, and Persia form a quartet, 
each of whom requires not only that a person be in pos- 
session of a passport, but also requires that it bear the 
visa of one of their own consular officers at the seat of 
the government issuing the passport. 

Secondly, a person must have a letter of credit good 
around the world. I bought my letter of credit at the 
Colorado National Bank of Denver. The letter is issued 
by the Kountze Bros., bankers, of New York, on the 
Union Bank of London, and is good throughout the 
islands as well as almost everywhere on every continent. 
The letter of credit, a product of recent years, is the most 
praiseworthy achievement of the banking world. It con- 
sists of two parts, one being the letter of credit, a finely- 
engraved document of four pages, nine by eleven inches, 



San Francisco to Vancouver. 



33 



the first page being a statement signed by Kountze Bros., 

setting forth the fact that has a credit of so 

many pounds sterling, and that his drafts on the Union 
Bank of London will be honored to that amount. The 
second and third pages contain spaces for dates, amounts, 
and names of banks around the world, to whon I may 
apply for cash on the letter of credit. As all amounts 
paid to me are entered, every bank to whom I present my 
letter can see in a moment the amount I have remaining 
to my credit, so that no bank need be swindled by paying 
after all the money is drawn for which the letter was 
issued. The second part of the outfit, known as a letter 
of credit, consists of a signature book, the first page being 
engraved, bearing my signature, and under it the signa- 
ture of the New York bankers, stating to the world that 
my signature is genuine, and that it is the one referred to 
in Letter of Credit, No. 9539. So, whenever I need any 
money, I go to the bank, write a check for the amount 
I desire, present it to the cashier, who examines my letter 
of credit, and observes that the letter is good for the 
amount and more, asks for my book of identification or 
signature book, which I immediately present, and, seeing 
that the signatures agree, the cashier pays me the amount, 
and enters it on the back of the letter of credit. The 
draft or check I wrote is kept by the cashier, and for- 
warded to London, which, when received in London, is 
charged to my account after being compared with my 
signature taken by the Colorado National Bank at Denver 
and forwarded to London. Hence it is seen that no other 
person could draw the money, even if in possession of the 
letter of credit, as no money is paid by any bank without 
first seeing the signature book ; and my name would have 
to be forged if some one should either find or steal both 
the signature book and the letter of credit. In such a case 
3 



34 Around the World. 

the forgery would have to deceive the London bank also, 
as each signature must pass the experts of the local bank- 
as well as the British bank before my account in London 
is charged. Greater precaution for absolute safety ap- 
pears nowhere else in the realm of finance. The charge 
for such service is five dollars and upward, depending 
upon the amount of credit obtained in London ; but the 
value of such an accommodation can not be estimated 
in dollars and cents, as a person can get any amount 
desired and in the currency of the country in which he is 
traveling. Another advantage offered is, that the owner 
of a letter of credit can have his mail sent in care of any 
bank, and it will be delivered to him on his arrival. 

Letters of credit are also issued by Thomas Cook and 
Son, available in all parts of the world, and are as good as 
gold. They present some features superior to the ordi- 
nary bank letter of credit, and are popular with a large 
number of tourists. An advantage is offered by using 
Cook's currency, because his offices are open earlier and 
later than the banks. Cook's offices are exchange banks, 
where the money of one nation may be changed into that 
of another as desired. 

The passport and letter of credit are the most impor- 
tant items to be considered by any one contemplating 
travel. The problem of baggage is easily disposed of. 
Take as little as possible. Never take a trunk if it can be 
avoided. My equipment is stored in two suit cases. 
Mr. Dana, a noted traveler, said that he took nothing that 
was too large to be carried in his overcoat pocket. He 
was a radical opponent of luggage carrying. 

But the hour for departing approaches. The smoke 
rolls from the huge twin smokestacks while the ten thou- 
sand horse-power engines pant like swift hounds, begging 
to be loosened for the chase. The good ship is a majestic, 



San Francisco to Vancouver. 



35 



throbbing, palatial mansion afloat. Built by the Naval 
Construction Company, at Barrow-in-Furness, England, 
she lacks in no point, being pronounced by" her builders 
as second to no craft that ever plowed the deep. Named 
the Empress of Japan, she measures four hundred and 
eighty-five feet in length, and on her trial trip developed 
a speed of nineteen knots per hour, having the honor of 
making the fastest trans-Pacific trip ever made. 

But yonder sun, hastening towards his evening couch 
far to the westward, bids us take a fond look at the conti- 
nent of our nativity and step from terra firma to the 
trembling monster bound for the Orient. Permit the poet 
to voice our farewell : 

"Yon sun that sets upon the sea 
We follow in his flight; 
Farewell awhile to him and thee, — ■ 
My native laud, good-night." 

Through the eye of faith I see beyond the billows, 
and land is in sight; but weeks must intervene between 
this embarkation and the sighting of land again ; so I call 
upon the poet to lead us in our prayer : 

" L^ord, whom winds and seas obey, 
Guide us through the watery way ; 
In the hollow of Thy hand 
Hide, and bring us safe to land." 



III. 

CROSSING THE PACIFIC. 

PLEASURES AND SORROWS OF LIFE AT SEA — SHIP ENCOUN- 
TERS TERRIBLE STORM — A DAY LOST AT THE INTERNA- 
TIONAL DATE LINE — DEATH AT SEA — ARRIVAL AT YO- 
KOHAMA. 

MONDAY. 

The command "let go" is given; the "jackies" hoist 
the large ropes from their posts ; the Herculean engines 
begin to throb ; the twin screws make the water boil, crest- 
ing the waves with foam, and we are off. 

A sea of handkerchiefs waves from end to end of the 
wharf, bidding us Godspeed as the start across the briny 
deep is made. Vancouver, B. C, soon melts away behind 
the towering hills as our good ship enters the Narrows 
and threads her way toward the open sea. At 21 o'clock 
Victoria is reached, where additional passengers and mails 
are taken, and the vessel puts to sea, the next stop on 
the schedule being Yokohama, Japan, four thousand five 
hundred miles over the trackless ocean. With con- 
stantly accelerating speed, the Empress plows her way 
out in the darkness. Hastening out upon the deck from 
my electric-lighted apartments, I thought I would take 
a glimpse at Balboa's discovery, then retire for the night ; 
but not an object could be seen, so dense was the darkness, 
and nothing could be heard save the muffled machinery 
and the ceaseless swish of the restless waters. The ship 

36 



Crossing the Pacific. 37 

runs smoothly to-night, but how will it be on the morrow ? 
retire to my well-found berth, No. 19, to surrender my- 
self, if I can, to the welcome embrace of Morpheus. 

TUESDAY. 

At break of day the vessel began performing like a 
bucking Western broncho resolved not to be ridden. She 
encountered a gale, and took all the poetry out of my 
feelings. She pitched and rolled like a cork on a mountain 
current, without any concern whatever as to what became 
of our excellent breakfast. All except eight of the pas- 
sengers were quite liberal, and each contributed freely 
as he had been prospered to the hungry gulls and fishes. 
But at two o'clock (returning to the twelve-hour system) 
I enjoyed my lunch, and was out promenading on deck 
as an old salt-seasoned sailor. Little now do I care for 
the vessel's motion ; but if the foam-crested waves should 
climb up over the bridge and play among the rattlings 
(wire or cable ladders), I might then be forced to add a 
new chapter to my record as a sailor. 

Examining berth 18, I find there Dr. H. C. Strong, 
a dentist from Chicago, bound for Manila, laid out by the 
sea's behavior, without breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Lake 
Michigan had offered no terrors to him during many 
a crossing, but it is quite different as he rides the real 
"Father of Waters." In berth 17 is Professor W. C. 
Chen, aged twenty-five, a Chinese graduate of Peking 
University, a teacher in his Alma Mater, now returning 
to his native land, having been on a lecture tour, speaking 
in Cincinnati, Columbus, and at the World's Methodist 
Missionary Conference held at Cleveland. Sick — that is 
no name for his lot. Crossing the Indian and Atlantic 
Oceans, he was little the worse for the trip, but now he 
has unconditionally surrendered. Being a professional 



38 Around the World. 

man, and following the Oriental custom, he dresses like 
a woman, except that he is not satisfied with one dress, 
but wears four at one time. Most American women do not 
object to four dresses, but they prefer to promenade in 
one at a time. In berth 20 is Professor J. Shimoda, 
now returning from Germany, where he has been 
taking a course in philosophy, preparatory to teach- 
ing in the Japan Normal. He, too, expresses his con- 
dition in the words of the German by saying: "Ich bin 
krank." He made excellent progress with the language, 
for he spoke it very well for the time spent. 

Near by is Mr. M. H. Sampson, wife, and children, 
Lotta and Marie, who are en route from San Francisco 
to Manila, he being the purchasing agent of the North 
American Trading Company. They will reside in Manila. 
I will not multiply particulars, but add that, when all 
were horizontal, little Marie said : "Mamma, I would 
rather drown than any other way, for drowning is the 
easiest kind of die." Those girls, aged five and one-half 
and seven and one-half, are so interesting. I had just 
been shaved (price twenty-five cents) when one of them 
climbed into my lap and kissed me, thereby in a way can- 
celing a thousand miles of the ocean voyage. 

WEDNESDAY. 

The severe tossing of yesterday is no more, and a 
quieter sea greets glad eyes, and all are on deck, marching 
and counter-marching. The empty chairs, so noticeable 
at mealtime yesterday, are now occupied regularly, and 
games are the feature of life at sea. The wind that came 
head-on yesterday is now astern, helping the ship onward. 
We are now out nearly eight hundred miles, and the 
gulls are still keeping us company. When the ship is 
making sixteen knots an hour against a head wind, those 



Crossing the Pacific. 39 

remarkable birds of the tireless wing keep abreast of the 
vessel without a single perceptible movement of their 
wings. They sail like kites connected with the ship by 
cords. They, however, ply their wings now and then to 
break the monotony of apparently dead-beating their way 
entirely. Occasionally they dart down into the sea after 
scraps assigned to the water from the kitchen, then come 
wheeling up again, ready to plunge for the next object 
detected by their ever-watchful eyes. 

The swelling ocean presents an ever-changing pano- 
rama. It is interesting to watch a big wave as it lifts 
its head on high as if to observe the approaching ship in 
order to learn what it means by invading this domain 
without a formal invitation. Then, like a maddened mon- 
ster it rushes upon the Empress, only to be cut in twain 
by her steel prow and melt away, regretting that an at- 
tempt had been made to drive the invader from the sea. 

Regarding the ocean, George Wither wrote the fol- 
lowing : 

" On those great waters now I am, 
Of which I have been told 
That whosoever thither came 
Should wonders there behold." 

To my mind, every wonder — whales, sharks, and creep- 
ing things innumerable — dwarf to insignificance compared 
with that greater mystery of the deep — the Power that is 
behind it all ; hence this verse of Charles Wesley more 
nearly presents my conception of the ocean : 

" 'T is here Thine unknown paths we trace, 
Which dark to human eyes appear; 
While through the mighty waves we pass, 
Faith only sees that God is here." 

Black clouds now fill the sky from the zenith to the 
horizon, and darkness hovers over the deep. The out- 



4o 



Around the Wcrld. 



look is indicative that a rough sea will keep U3 company 
to-night and put the Empress to the test. 

THURSDAY. 

Last night was the roughest yet experienced. The 
ship rolled and pitched frightfully. At one moment a 
person plunged down to the foot of the bed; at the next 
his head went plunk against the other end. My unusual 
length curtailed the distance I was forced to travel like 
a shuttle in either direction. Add to the rolling an abun- 
dance of pitching and you have a fair conception of the 
passengers as they moved in two directions, at the same 
time, demonstrating to us very practically what the poet 
meant when he wrote about being "rocked in the cradle 
of the deep." 

It is past ten o'clock, A. M., and Mrs. Sampson sits 
at the table just across from me with a far-away look, 
waiting for this double-geared see-saw to cease that she 
may gather her thoughts and write to her loved ones. 

The racks had to be used this morning on the tables 
in order to harness the dishes, but mishaps and wrecks 
occurred in spite of the greatest diligence. These racks 
are made of wood, and divide the table into spaces or pens 
fifteen by twenty-two inches and nearly three inches high, 
so that each person, having a quadrilateral for his service, 
is molested only by having his dishes pile up and wreck 
on his own premises; however, the contents often jump 
over into the coral of his neighbor, where diverse mixtra- 
tions become painfully evident. 

It is surprising the amount of food consumed on one 
of these ocean palaces. The gentleman in charge of 
the refrigerator tells me that, besides tens of thousands 
of pounds of beef, fish, pork, mutton, and wild fowl, 
he has also more than two thousand pounds of chicken. 



Crossing the Pacific. 41 

Desiring to familiarize myself with Japanese money 
before arriving in Yokohama, I went to the purser of 
the ship and exchanged my American for the Japanese, 
securing two yen for each American dollar, the yen con- 
sisting of one hundred sens, and each sen consisting of 
ten rins. 

FRIDAY. 

Dr. Strong came to the table this morning for the 
first time since Monday, the obliging waiters having 
serving him his meals in his cabin. The tossing of the 
sea is too much for him, and he now occupies No. 20 
as of yore. The occupants of Nos. 17 and 18, of whom 
I wrote Tuesday, are also laid up, while I am writing and 
feeling shipshape, having completely recovered on Tues- 
day by two o'clock, the doctor having remarked that I 
must be blessed with a gizzard for a stomach, making 
me a first-class sailor. 

It will be a surprise to dairymen to know that we 
have fresh milk on board ship each day. I learn that 
it was frozen in British Columbia and is melted as 
needed. Our special refrigerating machinery, I am told, 
accomplishes wonders by doing almost everything from 
freezing up young blast furnaces to making icebergs 
colder. 

SATURDAY. 

" Late, late yestere'en I saw the new nioon 
With the old moon in her arms ; 
And I fear, I fear, my Master dear, 
We shall have a deadly storm." 

— Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens. 

I have just been driven from the upper deck by a visit 
of the boiling, hissing, growling waters, though I was 
the last to leave the wave-splashed upper decks, except- 



42 



Around the World. 



ing the sailors, who, dressed in rubber hats, coats, and 
boots, are heroically laboring with the flying awnings. I 
reluctantly left the upper deck, for I love to look on na- 
ture when she is in her wildest mood. 

" For I have learned 
To look on nature, not as in the hour 
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes 
The still, sad music of humanity ; 
Not harsh nor grating, though of ample power 
To chasten and subdue. And I have felt 
A presence that disturbs me with the joy 

Of elevated thoughts ; 
Of something far more deeply interfused, 
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 
And the round ocean, and the living air, 
And the blue sky, and in the mind of man ; 
A motion and a spirit, that impels 
All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 
And rolls through all things." 

On Thursday I took a snapshot at the Empress as she 
lay wallowing port side down in the ocean under the 
influence of a huge wave which struck her starboard 
quarter; but to-day the driving wind is too full of water 
snatched from foam-crested waves to permit any at- 
tempt at photography. No spouting whales are visible 
to-day, as they have gone down where quiet reigns su- 
preme ; but we must take what comes. It is almost two 
thousand miles to shore on the east, and more than 
twenty-five hundred to shore in the direction we are 
going, and five miles to the eternal silence of the ocean's 
floor below us. How far it is to the heavenly shore we 
have no mathematical data. 

While on deck yesterday I interrogated a young sailor 
who was sweeping. He wore sailor's garb, a neat blue 
suit, his cap bore the gilt letters Empress of Japan. I 
supposed that he was the hero of many an ocean ad- 



Crossing the Pacific. 43 

venture, but learned the following, which I present in his 
own language: "Desiring a taste of the sea, I left my 
Louisiana home, came to Vancouver, and hired to the 
Empress line as a helper at $15 per month. I am on duty 
four hours, and off four. The table service for the 
ship's crew is not what I have been used to; but the 
grub is all right, I guess. As this is my first trip, 
I am seasick, and have eaten but one meal since we 
started; and when the ship gets back to Vancouver in 
January I '11 quit, for I 've got enough of the sea," 
said he, and he cast his tear-flowing eyes longingly over 
the seething water toward the cozy home he had left 
down in the Southland. Boys, take warning. This fel- 
low, aged sixteen, has marks of good parentage and 
training, but, like the Prodigal Son, must pay dearly 
for his experience. Officers fare well, there being at 
present no less than eighty applications on file for the 
position of second steward. 

It is now very dark and the storm still rages, so I 
will let Coleridge speak : 

"Alone, alone, all, all alone, 

Alone on a wide, wide sea ! 
And never a saint took pity on 

My soul in agony." 

And again the poet comes to our relief: 

" But tell me, tell me, speak again, 
Thy soft response renewing — 
What makes the ship drive on so fast? 
What is the ocean doing?" 

Would you see this sight that drives old sailors to 
guessing, then give your imagination a chance, and 
let us witness what the ocean is doing. I am anchored 
to the chair, yet now and then the lurching greyhound 
of the deep jerks me loose from my moorings. The 



44 



Around the World. 



twin screws leap from the water, and make the ship 
tremble from stern to prow at each leap over the on- 
coming and fast approaching townships of water. Now 
and then the rushing waves leap high above the main 
deck, over the upper deck, and still upward, deluging 
the promenade deck and introducing the lifeboats to salt 
water as they hang suspended still higher. 

I must beg of my wife a thousand pardons for ever 
inviting her to an experience like this. Would you get 
an idea of the motion or commotion produced, then just 
imagine your room to be a cabin in a ship. Place your- 
self in the east side, facing westward; in a moment the 
right side of the room rises as if to turn completely over, 
and you slide to the left ; then, when in collision with 
the wall, the west side of the room drops down, and you 
go sprawling at double-quick time, not on a two-step, 
but with a bang in that direction. Next, the left-hand 
side rises out of the abyss, and sends you to the point 
whence you started, ready to repeat the operation. A 
moment ago, a mighty rushing wave leaped over the 
decks, causing the ship to careen ; the New York mer- 
chant who pays $8,000 per year rental for his store- 
room, and now en route to China to buy goods, walking 
in the dining-room at the time of the shock, scampered 
in a zizgag route to his cabin as if hunting an asylum 
of safety. Would you hear the noise generated by the 
mysterious sea as it lashes itself into fury? Just send a 
dozen rattling freight-trains down the track of your im- 
agination, each train accompanied by an attendant cy- 
clone, and let all collide with a thousand fierce, scream- 
ing wildcats in a fight to the finish, and you may evolve 
from the combination an undertone of the echo of 
a storm in midocean. 



Crossing the Pacific. 45 

SUNDAY. 

" How happy they 
Who, from the toil and tumult of their lives, 
Steal to look down where naught but ocean strives." 

— Lord Byron. 

Were Lord Byron among the living and on board 
this ship, observing that not a woman has been seen 
either in the diner or on deck for two days, and that 
strong men are now stretched out like so many mummies, 
he would gladly change that word happy to miserable. 
It is one thing to look down at, and quite another to be 
out in, the striving ocean. The two chairs to the right 
of me in the diner are occupied by Englishmen from 
London, the one going to Calcutta, the other to Australia. 
Both assert that they have made many a voyage, but 
"never were in the like of this." At ten o'clock last 
night, moments seemed to abide with us like hours. 
Many feared that the Empress was struggling in the 
embrace of a typhoon. The machinery ceased its accus- 
tomed motion as we were driven, although the pilot kept 
the prow toward the line of assault. One man declared 
that his head bumped the ceiling at one dropping or 
sinking of the vessel. We are thankful that it is no 
worse, for on a former trip the good ship had her side 
smashed in, her smokestacks crushed and the lifeboats 
torn loose. The deep is more quiet now, and my text is : 
"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof 
are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet ; 
so He bringeth them unto their desired haven." (Psa. 
cvii, 29, 30.) 

MONDAY. 

The good ship now speeds quietly through the glassy 
waters, 

"Like a painted ship 
Upon a painted ocean." 



46 Around the World. 

In reply to my question as to why she steams so 
swiftly, the officer replied: "On our departure from 
Vancouver we cabled under the Atlantic and Indian 
Oceans to Japan, stating the precise hour we would ar- 
rive in Yokohama, and, in spite of the delay on account 
of the storm, the Empress will poke her snoot around the 
nook of land and be entering Yokohama Harbor just as 
the signal gun fires the eight o'clock salute on Monday 
morning, November 17th. She is now making up lost 
time." 

Stepping out upon deck before breakfast, I noticed 
four sailors carrying something rolled in a blanket. I 
wonder what that is?" said I to. the second steward, who 
responded, "That 's nothing but a stiff, and it 's the 
third person they now have rolled in blankets. But 
that 's only a common occurrence." Thus this Chinese 
steerage passenger went unwept to his casket. They are 
not buried at sea like white people, but are carried to 
destination of ticket, for Chinese will not patronize 
any steamship line that will not contract to carry each 
corpse to land for burial. Chinese are usually stowed 
away in the hold as Asiatic steerage. Seven hundred 
of them are thus stowed away on "this ship, all return- 
ing to their native land. When an American or Euro- 
pean dies aboard ship he is cast overboard as food for 
sharks. On such an occasion the ship runs at half speed ; 
the captain reads the burial service ; the corpse weighted 
with bars of iron, is then slid into the deep, and is seen 
no more by human eyes. "White man chucked over- 
board; yellow man carried into port," is a sad but true 
saying. I understand that some steamship lines carry 
every corpse into port regardless of color; but with us is 
a passenger who says he has witnessed a burial at sea 
on every voyage he has taken, having crossed the At- 



Crossing the Pacific. 47 

lantic only a month ago. The following verse is full 
of meaning at this moment : 

" Wrecks are darkly spread below, 
Where with lonely keel we go ; 
Gentle brows and bosoms brave 
Those abysses richly pave. 
If beneath the briny deep 
We, with them, should coldly sleep, 
Savior, o'er the whelming sea, 
Take our ransomed souls to Thee." 

I shall now retire, and not waken till Wednesday 
morning, this being Monday night, although I do not 
expect to sleep longer than usual. 

WEDNESDAY. 

We have crossed the 180th meridian, which is the 
international date-line, where a day is dropped going 
westward, and it is now Wednesday, November 12th. 
Hence this week will have only six days for us, and 
November only twenty-nine days. If we were sailing 
eastward and should cross this line on Monday, we 
would rise on the following day, and it would be Mon- 
day also, making the week have eight days. Going west 
a day is dropped ; going east a day is repeated. 

To be on the ocean to-day is pleasant. The ship 
moves proudly over the placid waters. Whales ventured 
within one hundred and fifty yards of us to-day in a 
school, playing and gamboling in semi-circular contor- 
tions to the delight of every beholder. One person ap- 
proximated their length at seventy or eighty feet, and 
worth $5,000 each. 

THURSDAY. 

To-day the ocean is decidedly rougher, and, as we skip 
over the billows, my mind turns back to the scenes of 
my childhood, where, when thrown from a horse, I 



48 Around the World. 

knew where I was ; but to be set adrift here almost 
staggers the mind. 

FRIDAY. 

One of the engineers invited me to accompany him 
to-day, promising to insure me a sight that I would 
never forget. I was taken down a hatchway into the 
hold, where the seven hundred Chinese steerage pas- 
sengers are packed. I shall remember the scene "till 
Gabriel's final toot." About six hundred were stretched 
out in their bunks, some sick, some smoking, while the 
other one hundred were either gambling or looking over 
the shoulders of those who were gambling. Some 
climbed upon boxes, and stretched their necks that they 
might see who won and lost. Being accompanied by an 
officer, we marched up to the table and saw the gam- 
bling kings taking in the hard-earned cash from the men 
who had labored for years to obtain it. One flickering 
light in the center of the table dimly revealed excited eyes 
and faces quivering under the terrible strain. Men re- 
sembled demons as they moved back and forth under 
the vessel's rocking, housed away below the water-line, 
where perpetual gloom prevails. I am reliably informed ' 
that men, having lost every dollar in that gambling den, 
have been known to rush upon the quarter-deck and leap 
into the sea, preferring to offer themselves as food for 
the sharks rather than return penniless to China. 

We are now three days' journey from Japan, yet the 
ameliorating influence of the Japan current is felt, and 
the thermometer rises to our entire satisfaction, as we 
have had a medley of weather since embarking. After 
the storm of Saturday, which absolutely baffles de- 
scription, we were treated to rain, sleet, and snow, and 
now a warmer clime is appreciated and welcomed as a 
lonsf-absent friend. 



Crossing the Pacific. 49 

SATURDAY. 

The firebell sounded at four o'clock, and the ship's 
crew hastily assembled on the upper deck, manned the 
lifeboats, and directed four streams of water in as many 
directions. It was a false signal, and the bugles gave 
the call "To your places," and the excitement was soon 
over. The full number of men (when all places are 
filled) in the crew is three hundred. From what I have 
seen during the past two weeks, I am thoroughly con- 
vinced that these fire-fighters are never handicapped by 
a water famine. A false alarm is turned in frequently, 
I am told, in order to drill the men and fit them for any 
emergency. 

SUNDAY. 

If this day had been made to order, I am confident 
that the venerable Hicks, of almanac fame, could not 
have improved upon it. At this time last Sunday we 
were emerging from the greatest storm with which 
this vessel ever fought. I am told to-day by an officer 
that the storm of Saturday night has no parallel in the 
ship's history, although the ship was damaged much 
more severely in a previous encounter, to which I al- 
luded under another date. I had often read about the 
severity of ocean tempests and the danger connected 
with ocean navigation, and for months I have thought 
about how tame it would be to make a voyage myself 
without experiencing at least enough rough weather to 
test the skipper. I now have no complaints to offer. I 
am satisfied, and will be perfectly happy if the weather 
continues as it is to-day for the next sixty days' voyaging 
yet before me. Nothing preventing, we shall reach Yo- 
kohama to-morrow morning. Not a ship has been sighted 
the past two weeks ; no evidence of civilization has come 
4 



^o Around the World. 

to our notice excepting some rope,' which may have been 
the last vestige of some weaker ship that failed to weather 
the blast. 

MONDAY,, NOVEMBER 1 7, I902. 

It is now past four o'clock, and we are in the Bay 
of Yeddo. Numerous towering lighthouses to the right 
and left tell us where we are as the lights flash across 
the quiet water. The scenes give me a new conception 
of the meaning of the verse, 

" There are lights along the shore 
That never grow dim." 

These great lights indicate great expense. But why 
consider the expense if they keep the ship from cutting 
her throat on the rocks and from sending to a watery 
grave a thousand people? We are anchored outside the 
Yokohama Harbor, waiting for the approach of the quar- 
antine officer. His boat arrives, and every passenger 
is examined before being permitted to land. We are 
at breakfast as the doctor enters, and one look at us is 
sufficient, for no symptoms are present except increasing 
appetites. 

The steerage passengers are examined thoroughly, 
for among them disease is most often found. The ex- 
amination consumes one hour and a half. The words 
"all right" are spoken, and the vessel creeps into the 
harbor, where boats from the hotels meet us. In ten 
minutes we are ashore in a foreign land, ready for the 
customs examination of baggage, which takes only a 
few minutes. Then come the jinrikshas, each readv 
to wheel us to — they care not where. A jinriksha is a 
two-wheeled baby buggy, intended to carry grown-up 
people. Here men do the work of horses, over a million 
men being thus employed in Japan alone, a country of 



Crossing the Pacific. a 

forty-five million people, and having an area equal to 
California. 

The jinriksha rate is ten cents per hour, and the 
rate at which those men run with a heavy man is a 
surprise to strangers. At twelve o'clock tiffin (lunch) 
was announced, and it surprised me more than even the 
'riksha men with their running. Lunch consisted of 
seventeen courses, and I am frank to admit that I never 
saw its equal elsewhere. Three other Americans join 
in the same verdict. The room assigned me is princely. 
I was never assigned a superior. 

Those who have followed me thus far observe that 
I avoid generalizing, and present particulars. I have 
read the writings of travelers for years, and all were 
given too much to generalities to the painful exclusion 
of particulars ; hence I desire to strike an unstruck chord 
on the literature of travel. "An honest confession is 
good for the soul." I propose also to write more about 
the people than about cathedrals, temples, etc. ; yet those 
creations of man's genius shall not be slighted. 

Surrounded by scenes and life totally different from 
any I had ever dreamed of or anticipated, I shall halt 
and write more fully when I have completed my sur- 
vey of the city and its surroundings, and have accus- 
tomed myself to actually believe that I see what I see. 

" Pass not unmarked the island in that sea, 
Where nature claims the most celebrity, 

Half hidden, stretching in a lengthened line 
In front of China, which its guide shall be, 
Japan abounds in mines of silver fine, 
And shall enlightened be by holy faith divine." 



IV. 

JAPAN. 

THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN — A EAND OF OPPOSITES — 
A BUDDHIST TEMPEE— MANNERS AND CUSTOMS — VISIT 
TO TOKIO, OSAKA, KOBE, AND NAGASAKI. 

Japan has been called "The Pearl of the East," "The 
Diamond of Asia," and "The Land of the Rising Sun;" 
but I would call it "The Land of Opposites." 

In America weeping is noticed at funeral services ; 
here laughter prevails when a loved one passes away 
and during the funeral service. When a man steps down 
street to notify the people of the death of his son, daugh- 
ter, or parents, he laughs as if he were telling good news, 
but it is his way of mourning. The corpse is placed 
in a sitting posture, with his head bent forward, and the 
law forbids the burial taking place within twenty-four 
hours of death. 

Here women wear neither hats nor bonnets, and, 
after miles of travel on the streets of Tokio, I believe 
I am safe in asserting that half of the men are hatless, 
and, further, do not own hats because they are regarded 
as superflous. The Japanese have reduced the absence of 
clothing to an art, the police finding it difficult to keep 
nude pedestrians off the streets. All the port cities now 
require that some clothing be worn ; but I have seen 
multitudes of all ages and description, whose photo- 
graphs would not pass muster at a Parisian art exhibit. 

52 



japan. 53 

Here pedestrians turn to the left in passing their 
fellows. Those not accustomed to it usually collide with 
nearly every person, as a collision is inevitable when two 
persons try to pass on the same track. 

It is the fashion for married women to blacken their 
teeth to indicate that they are married, and to prevent 
men from falling in love with them, while American 
women use every effort to keep them white. I am glad 
to announce that the fashion of blacking the teeth is 
losing ground, though a common sight. 

When a distinguished official passes through the 
streets on state occasions, no one is permitted to be on 
the second floor of any building along the street traversed, 
as it is an offense to look down upon a gentleman of high 
authority. Not only must one be on a level, but the 
bow must reach to the ground as the god in human 
form passes along. In Japan, politeness has gone to seed. 
The other day, while waiting for a train at Shinagawa, 
I tossed a half-penny among some little tots. The mother 
of the child that secured the coin bowed in a manner 
that would make a beggar in America feel himself a 
king, and the little fellow marched out and bowed. A 
Frenchman can not equal a Japanese in bowing. 

The day I arrived in Yokohama I was invited to the 
dedicatory service of the new building for girls' school 
under the management of the Woman's Foreign Mis- 
sionary Society. There politeness seemed to me to be 
overdone. The uncounted bows indulged in were a com- 
plete surprise to me. When introduced, those Japanese 
girls bowed in a way I shall not undertake to describe. 
A biograph is the only machine that will do the subject 
justice. Just before the service began, three young ladies 
entered and found three vacant seats ; but all stood in 
the aisle, each bowing to the other, as it was a breach 



54 



Around the World. 



of etiquette for either to go first without indicating' by 
multitudinous bows that the others should precede. 

The one that bows the lowest and longest is consid- 
ered the most polite; so they tried themselves, being in 
the center of a large audience. Often ten minutes is thus 
consumed in formality, and when it is all over, the one 
nearest the entrance to the pew precedes as if nothing 
had happened, when in fact nothing but foolishness had 
taken place. After the dedicatory service, the ladies 
served luncheon in the dining-hall, where further op- 
portunity was given to study things Japanese. In the 
afternoon I accepted an invitation to speak to the stu- 
dents of the Anglo-Japanese school in the Assembly Hall. 
This was the most novel experience. I stood upon the 
platform with the interpreter by my side. I would speak 
from three to five sentences ; then my sentences would 
be put into Japanese, and spoken as rapidly as I had orig- 
inally delivered them. The interpreter being quite ex- 
pert, having done work of the kind for twenty-three 
years, was able to let me speak for five minutes at a time 
during the latter part of my address, then take the floor 
and report every sentence and with oratorical rapidity 
and inflection. 

While entertained at the home of Rev. Dr. Julius 
Soper, I was the recipient of an invitation to attend a 
formal Japanese tea to be given by the ladies of the 
Tokio Anglo-Japanese College. I went at the hour ap- 
pointed. A young lady met me at the door, and escorted 
me through the hall to the reception-room door, where 
the real formality began. She was sent to the door wear- 
ing American shoes, so that she might remove a little of 
my embarrassment by sitting upon the floor with me and 
removing her shoes as I removed mine. Ordinarily Jap- 
anese wear nothing in the way of shoes except the soles 



Japan. 55 

fastened to the feet by bands passing between the first 
and second toes. The shoes removed, we were ushered 
into a room where ten young ladies were sitting shoe- 
less upon the floor in a semi-circle. By moving in either 
direction, a space was left for me almost in the center, 
where I bade good-bye to American customs and took 
my place upon the well-matted floor. There I was, upon 
the floor in my pulpit suit and no shoes, with five young 
ladies dressed in tea-gowns on either side, the hostess 
in one corner of the room, sitting as she busied herself, 
after my reception, in preparing to serve her guests with 
what is beyond the range of description. Before her was 
her charcoal fire and various utensils for preparing and 
serving. It was arranged that my position should be 
between two students who had been studying English 
for several years, and could explain the program as it 
progressed, thereby preventing me from multiplying 
blunders. One person is served at a time, and the pro- 
cedure is that formal and vexatious that it requires two 
hours to dispose of a dozen guests. Not being used to 
making a cushion out of my feet, I made no effort to 
prolong the function. 

Japanese houses have no beds, tables, or chairs, all 
of which they consider useless and in the way. They 
sleep on the floor, sit on the floor, and eat wherever they 
happen to be. Some eat their meals as they walk the 
street. When the meals are served at home, small stands 
six inches high are often provided, upon which the dish 
or dishes are placed, each person having a separate stand. 
Chopsticks take the place of knives, forks, and spoons. 
A block of wood serves as a pillow. Their shoes are al- 
ways left outside ; we always take ours inside, and some 
Americans have been known to wear their shoes while 
they slept. Babies are invariably carried strapped to 



56 Around the World. 

the mother's back like papooses. Carpenters pull their 
planes to them, while Americans push. Screws turn to 
the left. Saws are made to cut on the upward stroke. 
About the only sound or sight that bore the American 
brand was the rendition of "Marching through Georgia," 
to-day on the streets of Tokio, by a uniformed Japanese 
brass band. The next selection was "Yankee Doodle." 
They are in love with American music, having heard our 
bands at Yokohama, en route to Manila. 

In America, young men and maidens of ten make 
engagements regardless of the parents' wishes, but here 
the parents make the arrangements without considering 
or consulting the children. Frequently the bride and 
groom never see each other till the wedding-day. The 
more recent plan is to allow them to meet once before 
the nuptial-day, and if either is displeased the negotia- 
tions cease. The wedding always takes place at the home 
of the groom, he providing the wedding dinner. 

Japanese wear white for mourning. Here man and 
wife do not walk side by side. He precedes, while she 
tags along behind. He eats first, and what is left is 
hers and the dog's. In America, the lady is served first ; 
she is tendered the best seat at the table, in the draw- 
ing-room, and in the car. Here, if any one stands, it is 
the lady. I have seen women enter the cars and stand 
until they saw that all the gentlemen (?) were seated, 
then find seats among those not taken. There were ladies 
elegantly dressed in the height of Japanese fashion. 

Most visitors to Japan agree in their praise of Japa- 
nese women. One said, "She is so charming that she 
deserves better treatment." To this the Japanese re- 
plied, "It is just because she is kept in her place that 
she is so charming." Another said, "If this be the re- 
sult of suppression and oppression, then these are not 



Japan. 57 

altogether bad." My belief is that trie women are im- 
measuably superior to the men (as women usually are 
everywhere), and are what they are in spite of their 
treatment. 

Not over a mile from Yokohama is a rice plantation 
where I saw ladies gathering rice. They waded nearly 
knee-deep in water, slush, and mud, and seemed per- 
fectly contented. Their brothers, no doubt, were in the 
city pulling jinrikshas at seven cents an hour, when em- 
ployed. My sympathy for the girls was strong, so that 
I felt like saying, "I '11 help you." On longer reflection 
I decided that an hour in that slush would prepare any 
American for the hospital. Mr. McDowell, an alumnus 
of Harvard College, who accompanied me on this trip to 
the country, explained that they are prepared (or think 
they are) for such work and exposure by taking two hot 
baths daily, the water at no degrees. The Japanese 
boast that they take two hot baths daily, from the cradle 
to the grave. Every city is supplied with scores of public 
bathhouses. Some are free; at others a charge of one 
cent per bath is made. 

Men here, working on the principle that everything 
should bend to man's will, train the pear, peach, and 
plum trees so that the limbs run on frames like grape- 
vines in America. An orchard is a peculiar sight, no 
limbs standing upright. 

There are twenty-six passenger trains daily between 
Tokio and Yokohama. I have made the trip three times, 
and have not seen a conductor. Every one is required 
to purchase tickets, which are shown at the gate. Once 
through the gate, a first, second, or third class car may 
be taken, according to ticket purchased. You are sup- 
posed to know when your station is reached. Leaving 
the train, you pass through a gate where your ticket is 



^ 8 Around the World. 

taken up. A smattering of the Japanese language is 
necessary for one in order to get along smoothly. Cross- 
ing the Pacific, I picked up a few necessary words and 
phrases by the aid of a book, assisted by Professor Shi- 
moda. The word for ticket is kippu; first-class is joto; 
station at Tokio is sliinbaslii. Hence a person at Yoko- 
hama desiring to go to Tokio simply says to the ticket 
agent, "Shinbashi kippu joto." 

Opposition to the world's customs is found in the 
business realm. Here small quantities are quoted at lower 
rates than large quantities. Price advances in propor- 
tion to the amount wanted. Exporters affirm that they 
are compelled to buy in small quantities day after day 
through several persons in order to fill large orders, as a 
Japanese producer or wholesaler considers that a large 
single order indicates that the goods are wanted badly, 
and a higher price is asked. There are rare exceptions 
to this rule. On the other hand, people are advised to 
offer about half what is asked for goods at various 
stores and bazaars, as the offer of one-half the price 
asked, usually purchases the article in question. Great 
praise is due to the Japanese for having stamped out 
the opium trade. It is now an offense punishable with 
fine and imprisonment to be found in possession of an 
opium pipe. 

To the disgrace of Japan it must be asserted that 
the government sanctions the sale of women and girls 
into the worst form of human slavery. Through the 
efforts of the Salvation Army, a decree was issued by 
the Mikado making it possible for the person sold to 
avoid the sale at her discretion. But the loyalty of the 
girls to their parents is so intense that they patiently 
endure their term of bondage rather than cause their 
parents to return the purchase price or lose their home 



Japan. 59 

on account of failure to return the cash advanced on the 
sale of the daughter or wife. 

It is strange, in a land where the principal proverb 
is "Never trust a woman," that there are, broadly speak- 
ing, no bachelors or old maids, but divorce is common. 
In 1899 there were two divorces for three marriages. 
Among the grounds recognized for granting divorces are, 
disobedience, jealousy, talking too much, and thievish- 
ness. Fashions seldom change, and dresses are handed 
down from generation to generation — or till worn out. 

January is the universal birthday in Japan. They 
pay no attention to days or months in the ages of people. 
Every child born during an entire year is one year old 
till January 1st, then it becomes two years old. A child 
born in December is two years old on January 1st, when 
in reality, according to American ideas, it is scarcely a 
month old. 

All the girls celebrate their yearly holiday on March 
3d, while the boys celebrate on May 5th. 

Nearly all the cats of Japan are tailless, or have very 
short tails. The peculiarity is natural. If a cat happens 
to develop a tail it is quickly chopped off by some one 
who considers himself specially called to assist Japan 
in remaining what it is to foreigners, a land of surprises. 

Japan architecture is unique. The front of the house 
is usually open from wall to wall during the day. At 
night sliding or folding doors are utilized. The par- 
titions, where there are any, are composed of light frames 
filled in with paper. The vast majority of the houses, 
size about ten feet square, are so constructed that privacy 
is impossible, and the evidences indicate that it is com- 
paratively unknown. Many who have been abroad are 
adopting foreign styles, customs, and equipment ; but it 
will be years before old Japan changes her dress entirely. 



6o Around the World. 

A medley of vegetable growth greets the beholder. 
Beside the pine is the bamboo ; alongside the wheat-field 
is the rice-field; in the gardens vegetables are now in 
abundance along with chrysanthemums. Palms and 
oranges keep each other company. In all there are 2,743 
species of plants and flowers in the Japanese register. 
In the forests of Japan, though insignificant, there are 
178 species, while in all Europe there are only 85 species, 
and only 155 in Atlantic North America. 

Fishing is a great industry. Besides using nets, many 
use the cormorant. The bird is held securely with a 
cord ; a metal ring is put around her neck so she can 
not swallow the fish. After her throat and neck are quite 
swollen by the lodged fish, she is pulled into the boat 
and relieved of her burden, and sent out again. Fisher- 
men say that a cormorant in this way catches for them 
one hundred and fifty fish per hour. 

There are but few horses here, and, strange to say, 
the price is quite low. A good horse is valued at from 
$10 to $15. They are not wanted, because they are un- 
able to compete with the 'riksha men. The Japanese 
ties his horse by roping his front legs together. He 
reasons that a horse will never get away as long as his 
feet are motionless, while the American would tie, not 
the part that runs, but the part that eats. 

Tokio covers one hundred square miles, and has a pop- 
ulation of one million four hundred thousand. Its chief 
hotels are the Imperial, Tokio, and the Club ; its chief 
parks, the Shiba, Ueno, and Asakusa. Its temples number 
about eight hundred. Its chief institution of learning is 
the Imperial University, it being the institution of all 
Japan. The Shiba temple is called the marvel of Japanese 
art, and should be visited and compared with those of 
Nikko, the city of temples. 



Japan. 6 1 

Every one visiting - Tokio should include a compass 
in his equipment, and be a surveyor whenever lost. The 
streets evidently were laid out by a blindfolded guesser. 
There are few sidewalks, and, excepting in the Ginza, 
the principal street, the people walk or ride in the mid- 
dle of the street. Children, cats, dogs, chickens, jin- 
rikshas, hurrying crowds with clattering feet shod with 
wood, — all surge through streets not half wide enough 
for an American alley. Many of the streets have wells 
taking up nearly half the space, each well having a curb- 
ing rising two or three feet above the level of the street. 
The old-fashioned, balanced long pole and rope are still 
in fashion. Cook-stoves are very scarce, and the good 
wife prepares the meal, takes it to a public bake-oven 
close by — for they are numerous — pays a cent for having 
it cooked, and carries it home to the one who bosses the 
house. He is too much of a rascal to buy a cooking out- 
fit, and ought to be pushed into the Pacific Ocean ; but 
she works on, and dares not grow weary, bearing her 
burden in a manner that would be tolerated by an Amer- 
ican women about the millioneth part of a second. 

But there is hope. Christianity is getting a footing, 
and where it is planted conditions change for the better. 
Christianity, says history, has unlocked the fetters from 
woman, which explains in tones unmistakable why so 
many women are Christian. 

I am making a study of missions, and have found 
the Christian home a paradise in Japan compared with the 
non-Christian. Let no man raise either his hand or his 
voice against missions, for the Christian homes of Japan 
rise in unimpeachable testimony against him. The dif- 
ference between Christian and pagan Japan is the differ- 
ence between the brightest daylight and the blackest 
darkness. The Christian man and wife go to church 



62 



Around the World. 



side by side, with the little ones joyfully playing about 
them, and all are happy — a blessed family. The pagan 
man and wife go to the temple of Buddha, not side by 
side, but she mopes along in the rear, downcast, gloomy. 
A big child, that ought to walk, is strapped to her back, 
as she is only a burden-bearer, and must be kept in prac- 
tice whether the child should be carried or not. In the 
Christian home the woman is queen, her rightful God- 
created position. In the pagan home she is treated like 
a dog, or even worse than the lowest breed of American 
hounds. 

The time is coming when the gospel of Jesus Christ 
will proclaim the emancipation of woman in Japan, or the 
knights of America and Europe will rise, buckle on their 
armor, and rescue their neighboring sisters. My faith in 
the former is strong, and may best be expressed in the 
words of that eminent scholar, Dr. J. P. John, who said, 
"Whoever or whatever would outrun the gospel of Jesus 
Christ must measure footsteps with the eternal God." 

Statisticians follow people from the cradle to the grave. 
Figures are on record showing that a Japanese can and 
does live on an outlay of two and one-half cents per 
day. While living is cheap, it is also inexpensive to die. 
Here are the figures showing the expense of one funeral : 



Cost of Coffin, .... 
Cost of Cremation, . . 

Flowers, 

Physician's certificate, 
Fee to Buddhist Priest, 
Fee to coffin bearers, . 



Sen. 
40.0 
75-0 

•5 
10.0 

3-o 
14.0 



U. S. Money. 

$0.20 

•375 
.0025 

•05 

.015 

.07 



Total, H 2 -5 $°-7 I2 5 

A first-class funeral for less than seventy-five cents 
seems preposterous, but here the most unexpected is al- 
ways in evidence. 



Japan. 63 

When presenting a friend with a present, whether 
cheap or very expensive, the donor must apologize by 
saying: "It is so cheap and insignificant that I am 
ashamed to lift it before your honorable vision; but if 
you will condescend to accept it, it will make me very 
happy." He (or she) lifts it up, saying: "It is the most 
beautiful present on earth." The other day a lady pre- 
sented a neighbor with some eggs, and said : "I assure 
you that these eggs are bad, quite bad, but I hope they 
will be of service to you." A student at Tokio was re- 
quested to prepare an essay on the subject, "The Eng- 
lishman." I copy two sentences as they appeared : "He 
are not allowed it to escape if he did siezed something. 
Being spread, his dominion is dreadfully extensive so 
that his countryman boastally say, 'the sun are never 
sets on our dominions.' " 

The English language is almost invariably butchered 
when used by the Japanese. Many signs are written in 
both English and Japanese. The representative of the 
New York Life Insurance Company assured me that 
there was not a single sign in Tokio correctly written. 
After spending five days in Tokio, I am ready to give 
several signs a passing grade, but am also ready to reg- 
ister my conviction that more ludicrous specimens have 
not come to my notice. Among those that may be printed 
without violating rules of propriety are the following: 

"Modified milk for the scientific feeding of in- 
fants." 

"Fresh milk extracted here daily." 

Among the many sights novel, quaint, and interesting, 
none were so fraught with meaning to me as the specta- 
cle presented at each visit to the Buddhist temple in 
Asakusa Park. This park is situated near the center 
of Tokio, the largest city of the empire. The temple is 



64 Around the World. 

about one hundred feet square, and approached on the 
three open sides by a dozen steps running the entire length 
and breadth of the temple, the nave being supported by 
pilasters. I changed my position as the interest shifted 
from one side to the other, so that nothing might escape 
my notice. 

The position most sought by the surging crowds was 
immediately in front of the altar, in front of which was 
the large hopper, ten by twelve feet and three feet 
deep, into which the worshipers threw their cash. In 
front of the hopper is a telegraph pole, upon which some 
of the most devout knelt as they prayed to Buddha. This 
pole was worn as smooth as finished mahogany by the 
thousands who had touched it with their knees. Not all 
could kneel, making it necessary for hundreds to stand. 
I can still see that motley crowd as it pushed into the 
temple. I look out and see the people approaching in 
three directions. The sides of the temple are all open 
to permit ingress. They approach as near the altar as 
they can. Every man, woman, and child in the rear then 
hurls coins over the heads of those in front. I see many 
glistening coins in the air at the same moment, flying 
towards the hopper. They produce a din as they fall 
upon the metallic lining, much worn by many a shower. 
The gift made, each person doffs the hat, if one is worn, 
the hands are clapped to call the attention of Buddha, 
the head is bowed with great politeness, the prayer is 
offered either in silence or audibly, a bow is made, and 
away goes the worshiper to his home or business, having 
consumed scarcely two minutes within the temple. In 
this way the temple is able to accommodate tens of thou- 
sands daily. Occasionally the Buddhist priest opens the 
lower part of the hopper, and what rattles like a bushel 
of money rolls down before this Buddhist master of 



Japan. 65 

ceremonies. Many votaries of this heathen worship, 
who do not know any prayers, hasten to a Buddhist 
priest who sits at the side of the altar. They pay him 
a few cents to purchase prayers, written apparently by 
the priest upon a mimeograph. A thousand are printed 
from one copy, and are sold for cash to his miserable 
followers, who yearn for knowledge of the true God, 
but are fed with error instead of truth. 

The chief aim of the Buddhist appears to be to de- 
stroy Christianity, for Christianity destroys heathenism 
in every fair contest. Many who buy the prayers, and 
are unable to read them, chew the paper to pulp, and 
throw them at the image, hoping that the prayers will, 
in this way, reach their destination. Others, who are 
afflicted with some disease, not only go through the per- 
formances just described, but they also go to the "God 
of Health," made of stone, which stands on a pedestal 
on the right of the altar. They rub their hands over the 
part of the god corresponding with the part afflicted, 
then quickly rub the parts of their bodies diseased, ex- 
pecting thereby to be cured of their infirmities. A wo- 
man with a raving toothache approaches for relief. She 
rubs the jaw of the image with her right hand, then rubs 
her face and chin with great exertion. Another woman 
hastens to the image. She desires to nourish her child, 
and rubs the breast of the god, then rubs her own breast 
till tired. She steps away, and my jinriksha man, desir- 
ing to strengthen his limbs for fast running, rubs the 
limbs of the god, then rubs his own ankles and limbs. 
And the procession is endless during the day, and dies 
out only when night approaches. 

Men and women of America, what think you of 
heathen darkness? 

I am of the opinion that no fair-minded man or 
5 



66 Around the World. 

woman can look upon these scenes without saying, "God 
helping me, I '11 be a Christian now and forever." 

Notwithstanding the many discouragements besetting 
the reformer in Japan, there are evidences of a great 
awakening. A new Japan is developing, . and one en- 
thusiast has said he would not be surprised to hear of 
Japan proclaiming herself Christian in a day. Such 
a sudden transformation would not be best. Reforma- 
tions require time. New Japan will some day develop 
a Lincoln, who will strike the shackles from five hun- 
dred thousand female slaves, now under contract sale, 
signed by themselves and their parents. 

Every phase of life is in slow transition. The gov- 
ernment is sending hundreds of her best students to 
America and Europe to study science, art, philosophy, 
and civil government. Their return is accompanied with 
the introduction of Western ideas, customs, and man- 
ners. Already some of them have really begun to love 
the coy butterflies formerly regarded as soulless. Old 
Japan looks upon this recognition of woman as the fore- 
runner of the direst calamity. All, except the few who 
have been influenced by Western ideas, believe that wo- 
man has no soul and is not worthy the love of man. A 
Japanese poet of the new school has penned a little jingle, 
presenting a story of two lovers, who, under the new 
influence, had abandoned the old tandem form of prom 
enade, and were actually strolling hand in hand. It is 
valuable in that it signals the dawn of a new era. I 
present it in full : 

" Over the water the rising moon 
Floated her golden hair, 
That rimpled and curled in the low-blown wind, 
From the quays to her forehead fair. 



Japan. 67 

And round each notch of the leaden shore, 

Where the slim creeks softly bled 
Their lives away, in a strange wild sea, 

She broidered a golden thread. 

While down where the long white-fingered pier 

The waves with cool tongues lap, 
Two lovers were straying, who crossed the fields 

Of the moon's round golden map. 

And midway the Tunar-meadow's length 

Their inky shadows kissed, 
Then passed like midgets, hand in hand, 

Out in the shade and mist. 

Ah, if lovers do n't want their trystings known, 

Nor their kisses to gossip strewn, 
They must do their strolling in shady spots, 

And their kissing behind the moon !" 

The first four stanzas contain flashes that would have 
added to the pages of Tennyson, while the fifth stanza 
is less open to criticism than many from the pen of the 
laureate. 

In my Tokio paragraph I referred to the marriage 
customs of Japan; but further contact with the Japanese 
leads me to make additional allusion to the important 
topic of marriage. 

The parents, if they have been unsuccessful in lead- 
ing their children into matrimony, secure the services of 
professionals called go-betweens or match-makers. An 
alliance is soon made, and the ceremony follows, although, 
in the Province of Shima, it is customary for the groom 
to take the bride on trial. If she suits him she remains ; 
otherwise she returns to her own home, to be sent out 
on trial with the first applicant. These probationary 
periods seldom extend over a greater period than three 
years, as every young Jap is supposed to know within 



68 Around the World. 

three years whether his wife is the girl for him. The 
people of this province permit this custom on the ground 
that it prevents divorce. The principal part of the mar- 
riage ceremony, called sansan-kudo, consists of the drink- 
ing of sake by both parties. Just nine times each per- 
son must drink from the same cup alternately, followed 
by a wedding repast accompanied by singing. The most 
important dish served at the wedding repast is clam 
broth, the clam being a true symbol of married life, 
because the linings of each pair of shells are so arranged 
that they never fit any separate shell. 

There are as many customs as there are provinces in 
Japan. In Awa Province, if a young man, by his own 
oversight or that of his parents, allows himself to be- 
come a bachelor, and is able to support a wife, his friends 
hold a conference or primary regarding the case. This 
conference decides that the man in question must get 
married, and actually selects, without his consent, the 
lady who must become his wife. Of course, she is not 
consulted, for in heathen lands woman is not to be con- 
sidered. The young man and lady are both notified of 
the decision of the conference, and are requested to get 
married at once. If the request is not complied with, 
they proceed to carry the girl to the house of the man by 
force. She is there asked to blacken her teeth. If she 
refuses, some one holds her while another blows some- 
thing black like unto soot into her mouth from his own 
mouth. This is regarded as an unalterable form of 
engagement, and both give up and get married. A more 
unique antidote for bachelordom never came to my notice. 
While I see enough here to call this empire a land of 
freaks, the native, looking to the land beyond the Pa- 
cific, gives America the same appellation, because we 



Japan. 69 

tolerate old bachelors and old maids without the sem- 
blance of prohibition. 

In Shinano Province the program is slightly different, 
the shoes of the bride being thrown upon the roof of the 
house and kept there during the ceremony. In Joshu 
province, the bride, as she approaches the door of her in- 
tended, is compelled to leap over a bamboo pole. If it 
happens to be placed too high for her athletic leap, she 
must try again until success crowns her efforts. Such a 
custom introduced in America would draw people from 
the adjoining counties as witnesses. 

In Hiroshima the bride must send every article of 
clothing she expects to wear at the ceremony to the home 
of the groom the day before the wedding. Here the ar- 
ticles are exhibited, and every one is supposed to appear, 
inspect the garments, and offer congratulations. 

In Kita Katsushika the wedding dinner must consist 
of four courses of soup. Between the courses the clothes 
must be changed, pure white coming first, then red, black, 
and the choice of the wearer last. This can be observed 
only among the more wealthy, unless clothes are bor- 
rowed for the occasion. 

In Kamishima a romance accompanies nearly every 
wedding. When a young man is particularly pleased 
with a girl, he loiters about her domicile, usually after 
night, until he spies the object of his heart, captures her 
without the knowledge of her parents, carries her home 
on his shoulder, and the following day sends notice to 
her parents of their daughter's whereabouts. If the 
parents are displeased with the abduction, the girl is sent 
for. On the other hand, if they are pleased, they pro- 
ceed to his house, carrying a small measure of rice as a 
present, and express their consent to the proposal. 



jq Around the World. 

In Buko District the consent of the head man of the 
village must be secured before any ceremony is per- 
missible. His consent is never given till part of the 
ceremony is performed. He then appears as mayor of 
the town, and objects or consents. If he objects, the 
proceeding halts. If he is willing, he manifests it by de- 
manding a marriage tax ranging in amounts from fif- 
teen cents to one dollar and a half, the amount being 
conditioned upon the circumstances of the groom. This 
tax is not levied on the fourth marriage, on the ground 
that the man who has stood the ordeal three times has 
contributed his share to the world's happiness. 

There is a very curious custom among the villagers 
of Sagami Province. Here two young men are stationed 
near the bride, and lash her ten times with a bundle of 
straw as soon as the ceremony is over. They take the 
groom and throw him into a ditch by way of congratu- 
lation, and are as earnest and conscientious about it as 
the people of America when they extend congratulations 
at a wedding. 

One more incident, and I will submit the question. 
In Ebara Province all the couples who have been mar- 
ried within the province during the year are assembled on 
the ground of the Hachiman temple on New- Year's eve. 
The men are stripped of their clothes excepting the loin- 
cloth, and are given a whipping by fifteen young men se- 
lected for that purpose. Each young man treats each 
married man to one stroke. Every wife is compelled to 
be present and observe the performance. When any wife, 
through sympathy for her suffering mate, tries to run 
away to avoid seeing him suffer, she is caught, and is 
given the same punishment as her groom. Less tol- 
erant Americans would refuse to get married if they 
knew such chastisement awaited them ; but not a whit 



Japan. 7 1 

does it deter the brave Japanese, who, looking back only 
a few decades, observes that the laws of Japan then pre- 
scribed compulsory marriage for every young man and 
maiden having attained the age of sixteen years. Prece- 
dent has much weight in present-day life. It is even so 
in America, where rice-showers at weddings prevail, a 
relic of heathen countries. 

On Thursday, November 27th, Thanksgiving-day, 
I took passage at Yokohama for Shanghai via the Jap- 
anese Mail Line. The harbor at Yokohama was full -of 
shipping, the most savage-looking vessel being the British 
man-of-war, the flagship of the admiral. The ocean was 
on her good behavior, not an angry breaker to mar the 
quietness of an ideal Thanksgiving-day. 

Fujiyama's snow-white crest presented a spectacle 
never to be forgotten as the descending sun held sweet 
communion with the towering peak long after the fire- 
ball had sunk below our horizon. Within twenty-five 
hours we were entering the harbor at Kobe, where acres 
of shipping indicated a business center. Here was an- 
chored the City of Peking, one of the oldest Hong-Kong- 
San Francisco liners. Russian, English, German, and 
Japanese ships were in abundance. 

As our ship was to remain in Kobe twenty-four hours 
exchanging mail and cargo, I took advantage of the time 
and visited Osaka, twenty miles by rail, a city called the 
Glasgow, the Chicago, and the Venice of Japan. Being 
one of the three capitals of the empire, and having a 
population of eight hundred and twenty-one thousand in- 
habitants, its importance may be imagined. Osaka is 
noticed in history in 1 583, when laborers were called from 
all parts of Japan to build the imperial castle. This cas- 
tle is the most gigantic structure reared by the hand of 
man in the empire, and I have never seen any structure 



72 Around the World. 

anywhere that would presume to rival it. The historian 
says : "The palace within the castle was probably the 
grandest building - which Japan ever boasted. It sur- 
vived the taking of the castle in 1615; and in 1867 and 
1868 the members of the foreign legations were received 
within its walls by the last of the Tokugawas." Will 
Adams, the first Englishman to arrive in Japan, wrote: 
"The 12th of May, 1600, I came to the great King's 
citie, who caused me to be brought into his court, being 
a wonderfully costly house quilled with gold in abun- 
dance." Saris wrote : "We found Osaka to be a very great 
towne, as great as London, having a castle in it, mar- 
velous large and strong, with very deep trenches about 
it, and many drawbridges with gates plated with yron." 
This partly describes the castle as it appears to-day. 
Bristling cannon crown the highest parapet and numer- 
ous soldiers are on duty as a garrison. 

In company with two missionaries en route to China — 
one from Toronto, Canada, the other from Pittsburg. 
Pa. — I approached the entrance, desiring to see this tow- 
ering stronghold. At the one entrance we were met 
by glistening rifles in the hands of blue-uniformed sol- 
diers of the Imperial Guard. Each wore either gold or 
red shoulder-straps, and had the appearance of trust- 
worthy, picked men. Believing it would be better to 
stand our ground than to run, I mustered up courage 
enough to tell the officer that we desired to see the castle. 
He knew a little English, and replied that we must tell 
our names, business, and nationality, which we did at 
once. He replied : "Americans, all right." That was a 
shock to my friend from Toronto, for he emphasized the 
fact of his "Canadian citizenship, which is British, you 
know," and he was about to be barred on the threshold 
of the castle while we Americans were laughing in our 



Japan. 73 

sleeves because of our opportunity. I never was so proud 
of my pedigree before. I rejoiced that I was an Amer- 
ican citizen. I had heard that America was regarded 
as foremost among the nations for large-heartedness and 
genuine philanthropy, but did not expect such a practical 
demonstration of American preferment to occur in my 
own history. We desired to have our Canadian-British 
friend enter through the gate also, and our desires were 
fulfilled after a season of diplomacy. He signed a paper, 
which was sent to the highest official within, stating that 
a British subject desired admission. The_ reply came in 
due time that he might be admitted ; so we entered, no 
signatures or red tape being required of us who hailed 
from the land of Washington. We, accompanied by a 
detachment of the guard, passed the bridges, the moats, 
ascended wall after wall, curved around projecting bar- 
ricades, and finally reached the summit, where we had 
a splendid view of the city and far out into the country. 
The city of nearly a million seemed to nestle at our feet 
as the horizon leaped farther and farther as each higher 
parapet was scaled. Looking down from where the can- 
non rests, it seemed improbable that any force could ever 
take that stronghold. The walls are nearly perpendic- 
ular, and outside the outer wall is a moat at least fifty 
feet wide and filled with water, requiring two years in 
building, employing a vast army of men. Some of the 
stones are forty feet long and fifteen feet wide. How 
such huge rocks were ever quarried and handled remains 
an enigma. No lifting crane in use to-day would dare 
undertake such a burden. 

The narrowest streets as well as the most busy ones 
I ever saw are in Osaka. On some of the business streets 
two persons can not pass each other with raised um- 
brellas. There and at Kobe are many exporters worth 



^4 Around the World. 

millions of yen, shipping tea, cotton, rice, and matting 
to the ends of the earth. Many a box and package I saw 
billed to Chicago and New York. The Japanese eat 
everything that is found in the sea, from seaweed to the 
devil-fish. The fish markets are even more interesting 
than the bazaars. The favorite way of serving fish, 
even among royalty, in Japan, is raw, and it is a com- 
mon thing to see coolies walking the street eating those 
horrid-looking devil-fish fresh from the ocean. 

At ten o'clock, Saturday morning, November 29th, 
our ship, the Hakuai Maru, steamed away from Kobe, a 
port of two hundred and sixteen thousand inhabitants, 
for the most delightful of voyages, the trip through the 
picturesque inland sea to Nagasaki, three hundred and 
eighty-nine miles from Kobe. The entire voyage is an 
ever-changing panorama of beauty. The steamship 
threads her way through narrow channels in and out 
among the islands. On every side are villages, towns, 
temples, castles, forests, peaks, mountain chains, terraced 
hills, and valleys. Now and then the smoke of the iron 
horse, with his train of human freight, is seen far across 
the rugged mountain side, hastening onward as if meas- 
uring strength with the speeding mail-ship. Innumer- 
able fishing-smacks make every effort to give the large 
floating palace clear track, and thus prevent their being 
crushed and sunk. 

At Moji, the terminus of the inland sea, the vessel 
halted six hours for coal. Coaling a vessel in Japan is 
a very interesting sight. The coal is brought to the ves- 
sel's side in junks, from which steps are placed reaching 
to the ship's deck. One person stands on each step and 
receives the baskets of coal, then passes them on to the 
next, until the baskets reach the coal-bunker entrance, 
where they are dumped, the coal falling to its place ready 



Japan. 75 

for the stokers. So rapidly are baskets filled, emptied, 
and returned, that there is a constant stream of baskets 
in a seemingly never-ending procession rising from the 
coal junk to the large steamship. In this way thirteen 
hundred and sixty-nine tons of coal have been put on 
board in four hours, which is over five tons per minute. 
On such occasions the ship is surrounded by coal junks, 
and many a human highway of transportation swerves to 
and fro with the regularity of heart-beats. It is a sur- 
prise to Americans to see girls and women in each pro- 
cession, each doing the work of a man, lifting baskets 
containing forty pounds of coal. Working with such 
rapidity, and being under such a strain, the perspiration 
rolls down their faces in beads. As the boys, young men, 
and old men warm up, they discard their clothing until 
many of them retain no more than would be required to 
make a very small doll a dress. Whatever quantity of 
clothing may be discarded by the girls and women, they 
never, no, never, bare their arms. However, regardless 
of the protest of Mrs. Cleveland and other prominent 
American women, the Japanese girls and women continue 
to wear their skirts divided the full length in front 
and frequently, entirely open. Their system of keeping 
the lower limbs bare and the arms scrupulously covered 
is like unto the system which would cause one to choke 
on a gnat and swallow a camel. 

On arriving in Nagasaki we noticed, besides a Rus- 
sian man-of-war, the large army transport Thomas, en 
route from Manila to San Francisco, loaded with our 
soldier boys. Passing down street a few hours later, I 
noticed a mob in front of a hotel. Hastening rapidly to 
the scene of excitement, I saw an American soldier 
in the center without hat, his face and head bleeding from 
a number of cuts. Hurrying to his aid were other sol- 



y6 Around the World. 

diers ; but the timely action of the Japanese police in 
arresting the Jap who had done the damage, and hurry- 
ing him to jail, prevented a tragedy, possibly a Japanese- 
American conflict. 

I visited the Shinto temple where the Shinto priests 
are on duty. Each worshiper gave the priest a piece of 
money, whereupon he began beating a large kettle-drum 
with tom-tom effect, which to the Shintoist is the mode 
of praying. The missionaries are doing remarkable work 
in carrying gospel light to the heathen devotees. There 
is a scarcity of workers in Japan. The ingathering has 
been marvelous. More than two hundred people have 
been turned away from one school on account of the 
lack of rooms and teachers. It is indeed a pity that many 
Americans are careless and indifferent in regard to the 
Christian religion, while many in foreign lands are only 
too glad to make the acquaintance of Jesus Christ, the 
Savior of men. 

Being a missionary secretary myself, with a letter 
regarding missionary inspection from Bishop Moore and 
Drs. Oldham and Leonard, of the New York and Chi- 
cago offices, it is needless for me to present the names 
of the resident missionaries and educators in each city 
and country, who spare no pains to make my visit both 
interesting and profitable ; but I will simply state, once for 
all, that without the co-operation, counsel, and experi- 
ence of these grand, good people, weeks would be re- 
quired where days now suffice for my work. Through 
their diplomacy, I am enabled to interview officials, in- 
spect places of interest, and thereby secure information 
at first hand, much of which has not been in print here- 
tofore. I am not a tourist. I am out for business, and 
am weary of work when night falls ; hence I am having 
no holiday. 



Japan. 77 

In the Nagasaki part, I noticed the following inscrip- 
tion carved upon a monument seven feet high by three 
feet wide: 

"Nagasaki, Japan, June 22, 1879. 
"At the request of Governor (Japanse name) Mrs. 
Grant and I each planted a tree in the Nagasaki park. 
I hope that both trees may prosper, grow large, live long ; 
and, in this growth, prosperity, and long life, be emblem- 
atic of the future of Japan. 

"U. S. Grant." 

The trees, India-rubber, were planted about twenty- 
five feet apart, and were protected by a strong frame- 
work, but the tree planted by the general and ex-President 
died, while the other, planted by Mrs. Grant, not only 
flourishes, but has grown double, forming two trees. This 
is a living testimonial to the worth and work of woman, 
and a serious blow to the Japanese timeworn theory of 
feminine inferiority. 

In addition to the various phases of life more or less 
interesting, Japan was treated to an earthquake a few 
days ago. This occurred while I was at Tokio. The 
houses trembled like maple branches ; the people rushed 
pellmell into the streets, fearing that the houses might 
tumble down upon them. I have not visited a house 
in Japan in which the plastering is not cracked. For 
untold years the Japanese have firmly believed that a 
dragon is chained under their islands, and that his peri- 
odical efforts to free himself causes the earthquakes. 
The steamship Empress of Japan has the dragon carved 
on the bow ; Japanese coins bear the inscription of the 
dragon on one side; and that hideous-looking monster 
is everywhere in evidence. 



7 8 Around the World. 

Besides the earthquakes, Japan has other problems 
that keep her nervous. Though she has entered into an 
alliance with England to check the encroachment of Rus- 
sia, yet Japan is busy watching England's movements 
in the Far East. The policy of America in not demand- 
ing a slice of China has assured Japan that she has noth- 
ing to fear from Uncle Sam. Japan holds the Russian 
in supreme contempt. While the Russian squadron was 
cruising in Japanese waters, two men-of-war and a crui- 
ser with over two thousand men anchored in the harbor 
at Kobe. One of the sailors was severely handled by 
some Japanese coolies while on shore. When this was 
reported to the squadron, eight hundred brawny sailors 
secured leave of absence to go on shore for revenge. 
The men were not allowed their firearms, but purposely 
wore their belts. Every Japanese that, showed himself 
in the streets was caught and given a severe strapping. 
The police went into hiding, being unable to cope with 
an army of Russians, though armed with belts only. The 
account of this treatment was published throughout Ja- 
pan ; consequently, when a Russian warship anchored at 
Nagasaki last week, a mob formed, caught the first squad 
of men that landed, and gave them many a deep cut and 
bruise before the police succeeded in restoring order. 
An inoffensive German who happened to be standing near 
the men after they came ashore was taken to be one of 
them, and was also very much disfigured. Those who 
read between the lines in diplomatic circles prophesy 
that it will be only a matter of time when Japan and 
Russia will declare war as the last resort in the settle- 
ment of their differences. Russia is the aggressor, Ja- 
pan has already appropriated 50,000,000 yen for battle- 
ships, and is nervous over the situation, to say the least. 



Japan. 79 

The women of America are to be congratulated over 
the progress they have made through their Foreign Mis- 
sionary Societies in lifting the girls and women of Japan 
from the thralldom into which ages of ignorance and su- 
perstition have consigned them. Commodious buildings, 
though half what are needed, have been erected in nearly 
every city where the light of a new civilization is rapidly 
transforming old Japan into the newer and better with 
its Christian home, the real safeguard of the world. 



V. 
CHINA. 

THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE — REAL FOREIGN DEVILS — MISSION- 
ARIES OF COMMERCE, NOT OF THE GOSPEL, RESPONSI- 
BLE FOR CHINESE TROUBLES — A NATION APPARENTLY 
NERVELESS — CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS — CHAOTIC 
CONDITION OF FINANCE. 

Leaving Nagasaki, a voyage of two nights and one 
day, measures the distance across the turbid Yellow Sea, 
and causes the long brown line of China to rise out of the 
horizon, and we enter the Yang-tse-Kiang River, where 
junks of every description ply, bearing pig- tailed crews, 
dwellers of the real Cathay. Our vessel reels as it strug- 
gles with the tide at the Woo sung Bar, called by the 
Chinese the "Heavenly Barrier," because it is regarded 
as Divinely prepared to prevent the world's ships from 
gaining access to the city of Shanghai, with its popula- 
tion of over four hundred thousand, called the New York 
of the far rim of Asia. 

During the Franco-Chinese war in 1884, the Chinese 
added to the difficulty of ascending the Yang-tse-Kiang 
by sinking stone-loaded junks across all but one narrow 
channel. This channel is used by the nations' vessels 
as a highway to this commercial metropolis. The first 
railroad built from Woosung to Shanghai was torn up 
by the superstitious Chinese, and the locomotives were 
plunged into the river; but when the cannon of several 

80 



China. 8 1 

nations were pointing their death-dealing mouths toward 
Shanghai, the emperor changed his mind, and the whistle 
of the locomotive is now heard as the trip of thirteen 
miles is made. Approaching the city, iron-clad men- 
of-war were passed as they lay at anchor near the Shang- 
hai Harbor, their heavy cannon, like giant cigars, pointing 
in every direction, proclaiming the gospel of force. This 
international display of man-killing machines presented 
a formidable appearance. The fleet consisted of one Rus- 
sian, one Chinese, two Italian, two Japanese, two Ger- 
man, two American, three French, and three British war- 
dogs. 

The very fact that the gunboats are needed indicates 
that China has no love for the foreigner, and, judging 
from the treatment administered to the natives by the 
foreigners, excepting the missionaries, I do not blame 
the Chinese in the least for being opposed, first, last, and 
always, to the presence of many of the people residing 
here, called "foreign devils" by the Chinese. 

The missionaries treat the natives as they should be 
treated, people worth helping; but the majority of those 
engaged in business, at least as far as I have observed, 
treat the Chinese as dogs, or worse than dogs. People 
are growing rich by high-handed extortion, or, to be 
more exact, by a system of highway robbery, the like of 
which I had never dreamed. The children are follow- 
ing in the footsteps of their parents. 

Yesterday I visited Central Market, where fruits, 
meats, vegetables, etc., are for sale and at prices unheard 
of before — fish of any and every kind at give-away prices. 
Sharks could be had at almost the asking; deer at one 
dollar each. In view of all this, I saw a foreign girl 
help herself to what oranges she wanted. The owner 
would endeavor to take them from her, and succeed or 
6 



82 Around the World. 

fail according to the quickness of the girl in getting away 
with her booty. The poor vender could not leave his 
stand long to follow her, as large crowds were waiting, 
and, besides, other "foreign devils" might steal the re- 
mainder while he was chasing the girl in question.' Her 
supreme impudence and contempt of all moral law was 
shown by the second attempt to take oranges which the 
seller had just wrested from her hands by force. The 
Chinese take this in good humor, and say little, because 
they fear those iron, fire-breathing monsters that bedeck 
their harbor only a few blocks away. 

I observed an English lady as she sent her servant, 
a young man, on an errand. I was surprised to note 
his quickness ; he went like the wind. The errand accom- 
plished, he returned, and was so polite, I decided that 
such rapid service would not be asked or expected in 
America or England. But this lady (?) gave that serv- 
ant a tongue-lashing and volley of vituperation for being 
so slow when she well knew that he had rendered abso- 
lutely perfect service. Though well dressed, her manner 
and uncalled-for abuse impressed me that the appella- 
tion "she devil," if applied to her, would be thoroughly 
complimentary. 

Another instance justifying the term "foreign devil :" 
I had engaged a jmricsha (Shanghai spelling) for a trip 
of three miles about Shanghai, and on returning paid my 
man a few cents more than the regular price; however, 
according to Chinese custom, he asked for ten cents ad- 
ditional, which may or may not be given as one likes. 
At this moment the hotel clerk, an American, stepped 
up and asked what the man wanted. I replied that he 
requested ten cents additional, whereupon the clerk flew 
at him in a rage, and kicked the Chinaman three times 
with all his might before the recipient of the uncalled- 



China. 83 

for booting had time to decide whether he had been struck 
by a typhoon or a "foreign devil." No resistance was 
offered, although we were surrounded in two minutes 
by a horde of Chinese. My first thought was that the 
Boxers had us, as no Americans or Englishmen were in 
sight, and we were in the heart of a city containing 
four hundred thousand people, wearers of the cue. They 
doubtless called to mind the fact that the gunboats were 
close at hand, and that the use of the big knife might 
bring upon them the wrath of the belching cannon. 
Therefore in a few minutes the rabble dispersed, while 
my accelerated heart quieted down to its normal stroke. 
The man who insists that the missionaries are at the 
bottom of the Chinese trouble has either never smelled 
salt water, or, if he has visited Asia, has been paid to mis- 
represent the true condition. The intriguing mission- 
aries of commerce, by their lack of ordinary human in- 
stinct, have brought merited contempt upon themselves ; 
and the missionaries of the gospel of Jesus Christ, being 
foreigners also, must share in the unmerited title "for- 
eign devils." I have had several interviews with Rev. 
W. H. Tingle, who, in 1888, was in charge of the Pres- 
byterian work at Gering, Neb., but is now a missionary 
at Hankow, about six hundred miles up the Yang-tse- 
Kiang River in Central China. He is an alumnus of the 
McCormick Theological Institute, and has spent more 
than twelve years in China. He states that he has been 
at work an entire year without seeing a solitary person 
other than the Chinese. He has been entertained 
throughout his journeys by the Chinese, who never per- 
mit him to pay a cent for his accommodations. They 
treat him with absolute respect and are glad to have him 
come, because he treats them as men and not as soulless 
vagabonds. He asserts that an experience of twelve 



84 Around the World. 

years has taught him that the highest class of Chinese 
are equal to the highest class of Americans, and the 
lowest class of Chinese are no lower than the lowest 
Americans. I question his judgment. 

I am as much surprised at the greatness of the Chinese 
as I was at the eccentricities of the Japanese. In conver- 
sation with a professor of the Peking University I have 
learned many characteristics peculiar to this empire. I 
also learned that many characteristics that are so noticea- 
ble among the unlearned appear equally strong among the 
most highly educated. I believe I am safe in stating that 
the Chinese do not reason. Ask them why they do so and 
so, and back comes the reply, "We do this in this way, 
because this is the way we do." When a person is sick, 
the neighbors come in, bringing every conceivable kind of 
instrument adapted to make a noise, and bedlam reigns. 
The idea is that an evil spirit is troubling the afflicted one, 
and the best way to rid him of the parasite is to frighten 
it away by noise. If the person is restored, they give 
noise the credit for driving the varmint away. But if the 
person dies, as one might expect, the blame is placed upon 
the noise-makers, who evidently failed to make enough 
or of a kind which the evil spirit was afraid of. 

The funeral is a regular Fourth of July to the neigh- 
borhood. Torches and drums are provided; the drums 
are beaten as the procession moves along the street, 
where firecrackers make a pyrotechnic display calculated 
to keep evil spirits from gaining access to the casket. The 
casket is wrapped in a red blanket for the purpose of 
deceiving the spirits into believing that it is a joyous oc- 
casion, instead of one of mourning. The coolies, usually 
from ten to twenty, carry the casket on poles, and at the 
same time make merry to enliven the observers by their 
antics, and as a further precaution to deceive. One man 



China. * 85 

accompanies the procession, carrying money on a pole. 
The funeral yesterday was of a wealthy Chinaman, the 
procession was long, and the noise was unusually fright- 
ful. I shall remember it because it differed from and I had 
ever heard. A larger quantity of money was carried than 
is usual. The money was burned at the tomb for the pur- 
pose of affording the deceased a sufficient quantity of 
spending money en route from earth to the spirit land. 
The Chinese believe that money has spirit, and that it is 
released when burned, and becomes legal tender for its 
owner in the world beyond. Ask the Chinese why they 
do this and they reply, "We do this in this way, Because 
this is the way we do." 

A friend of mine, who spoke the Chinese language, 
in conversation with a Chinese banker who believes in this 
way of providing the departed with spending money, 
criticised the system severely, and remarked that the 
banker ought to receive the money of the people, issue 
drafts for it, and let them burn the drafts thereby for- 
warding the cash. He replied that he had not thought 
of that. It is prophesied that this system will soon be in 
vogue to the enriching of the bankers. 

The Mormons of Utah drop entirely from the cal- 
endar when compared with the Chinese in the practice of 
polygamy. The Emperor of China is allowed two thou- 
sand wives, and I am informed that the number never 
falls below the allowance, and that they are about the im- 
perial palace all the time. The other government officials 
are limited to a certain number, none being allowed as 
many as the emperor. The very poor have only one wife, 
simply because they can not afford to keep two or more. 

Those whom I have interviewed on the much-dis- 
cussed subject of infanticide in China are agreed that 
the poorest parents are forced by poverty either to see 



86 Around the World. 

their children slowly starve to death or to take their lives. 
Some adopt one plan, while others follow the other. 

Lack of public spirit is marked. They allow the roads 
to become impassable when a little work properly applied 
would solve the difficulty. In Shantung Province there 
is a road so deeply cut or worn down that two carts 
can not pass for miles ; consequently, instead of repairs, 
men are stationed at both ends as guards, and people are 
allowed to pass one way in the forenoon and the other 
way in the afternoon, requiring a person to stay over 
night when on only a short journey; but time is no con- 
sideration in the Chinese eyes. 

Their language, I am told, has no past or future 
tenses. Everything occurs in the "eternal now." The 
Chinese see no objection in the way of saying: "General 
Wing Wang Wong is killed fourteen hundred years ago." 

Ordinarily the Chinaman has no use for a clock or 
watch. He tells the time by the position of the sun 
and moon, or when they are not available, the economic 
dweller in Cathay observes the contraction and dilation 
of the pupil of a cat's eye, and secures a result accurate 
enough for his purpose. 

Children go to school at daylight, and continue all 
day. They "study out loud." I never heard such a gab- 
ble as that presented yesterday at a native school. Every 
student was not only speaking as he rehearsed his lesson 
to himself, but actually yelled, presumably on the ground 
that the one was studying the most intently who made the 
most noise. Chinese are said to have no nerves. While 
that is physiologically untrue, it may be said that they 
act as if they were nerveless. A foreign teacher's nerves 
would be wrecked in a day on account of the noise, 
while in the same room a native teacher grows fat. It 
is said that a Chinaman can sleep anywhere, and that 



China. 87 

an army of ten million men could be secured, every 
man of which could sleep on a rapidly-moving wheelbar- 
row, his head hanging down almost to the ground, his 
mouth open, and a fly crawling about on a tour of 
inspection within. 

Those who are used to seeing the Chinamen of Amer- 
ica are surprised to notice how large and strong the aver- 
age man is here. Many are real giants. In the entire ab- 
sence of street cars, people are conveyed on jinrikshas or 
wheelbarrows. I saw one man wheeling five medium- 
sized women at one time on the regulation wheelbarrow. 
Some people never patronize the jinrikshas, but always 
ride on the wheelbarrow as transportation is cheaper. Tak- 
ing the bridal tour on that kind of a vehicle is common. 
Drays are scarce, as they can not compete with man 
power. The goods bought, sold, and shipped by large 
importers and exporters here, many shiploads per week, 
are transferred by men with carts or wheelbarrows. Such 
heavy work has developed men of great muscle. The 
lack of improved machinery throughout the vast empire 
requires that all work be done in the hardest way possible ; 
hence I am convinced that the Chinese have the balance 
to their credit among the nations as strong physically. 

From this vast multitude of over four hundred million 
people, about one-fourth of the world's population, an 
army of at least 25,000,000 athletes could be organized. 
Such an aggregation if properly drilled and armed, would 
be absolutely irresistible. The Chinese have no fear of 
death whatever and can endure hardships of fatigue and 
hunger to an extent unapproached by foreigners. All 
they lack is organization and unification. With these 
essentials to successful enterprise in their possession, the 
Chinese would become the most powerful of the world 
powers and a menace to civilization. As she is, she is 



88 Around the World. 

helpless. When Japan whipped the Chinese forces, only 
two of the Chinese provinces were engaged, while all 
Japan was represented. The other sixteen provinces, or 
either half of them, could have shouldered the entire pop- 
ulation of Japan, and have ducked it in the sea. 

There is a babel of tongues in China throughout the 
eighteen provinces, those of one, in most instances, not 
understanding the language of the other provinces. This, 
with their characteristic lack of organization, makes the 
Chinese a prey to the nations of the West. Whether these 
shortcomings be a part of the Divine plan in order to per- 
mit Christianity to capture the empire before it gathers 
itself and learns its latent power and plunges into war 
with the surrounding nations, I do not venture to guess, 
but one thing I know is, that if I had a thousand lives to 
live, I could do worse than to give each of them, if need 
be, to the emancipation of the "Flowery Kingdom" from 
the bonds of ignorance and superstition which fetter it 
and prevent progress. 

China has to her charge faults multitudinous, but 
John viii, 7, reads, "He that is without sin among you, 
let him first cast a stone at her." Chinese bandage their 
feet until the feet of a grown person have been known to 
measure only two inches in length. Speak to them about 
it, and they reply that American women go as far by 
lacing their bodies into hour glasses. 

The Chinese have no stoves for heating. Their houses 
are not ventilated ; their streets start in no particular 
direction and go nowhere. If it grows cold, they make 
a fire under the bed, roast awhile, then cool off quickly. 
They break every recognized law of hygiene. Two re- 
markable cases of endurance are recorded. An employee 
in Peking was taken with typhus fever. On the thirteenth 
day he grew wild, sundered the cords which bound him 



China. gg 

in his bed, escaped naked, eluded his pursuers by leaping 
a high wall and hiding in a moat inside the great wall, 
where he was found two hours later, having cooled his 
fevered body. He was returned to his home and re- 
covered completely. Another young man at Tientsin 
made a living by collecting spent shells where the troops 
engage in artillery practice. On trying to break open 
an unexploded shell, it blew to a jelly part of his left leg. 
He was carefully cared for until his limb healed, having 
been amputated below the knee. He then returned to the 
same business, and in the same way had an arm blown off, 
and was cut in a score of places about the body and the 
head, many a bone being exposed. For hours he lay 
bleeding in a helpless condition, exposed to the sun. 
Some coolies came along and threw him into a ditch to die. 
He managed to crawl out, and dragged himself to a gran- 
nary, and, finding a basket, curled up in it. The owner 
of the premises cast him out to die in order to get rid of 
him, but he was found by those who had learned of the 
"World's Christmas Gift," taken in, and cared for until 
well again. Hospitals are unknown in heathen lands 
until introduced by the Christians. 

In one city of five hundred thousand there is not a 
policeman. Every man is responsible for the conduct of 
all who are in front of his store or dwelling, and must in- 
terfere as arbitrator whenever any difficulty arises before 
his domicile. Suppose I am assaulted in front of Lou 
Fong's shop. I call upon him for help. If he refuses, 
I take his name and number, report him to the city au- 
thorities who hold him responsible for my treatment. 
Hence order is preserved by requiring every man to 
"sweep before his own door." 

The currency of China is in a chaotic state. One 
dollar in Chinese cash brass coins weighs no less than 



9° 



Around the World. 



eighteen pounds of avoirdupois, and changes in value 
almost as often as the tides rise and fall. Every dollar 
(American) is worth $2.42 to $2.50 in silver here, Mex- 
ican currency being in general use in connection with the 
Chinese. Silver money fluctuates so that a new price is 
placed on all goods at each change in the value of money. 
Clerks are kept busy learning new prices. One person 
remarked to me that he seldon paid the same price twice 
in succession for the same article at a grocery. This 
state of affairs makes business men fearful of severe losses. 

The Chinaman is economical or nothing. He is so 
because of compulsion. He is not fond of butchering 
cats, dogs, and animals that die of disease, but years of 
poverty forces just such a procedure. This is done by 
the lowest class only. Turning to America, the same 
class, native born Americans, are found who make it their 
business to buy diseased beef and sell to those who know 
what they are buying. Crossing the Pacific, a fellow 
passenger, an Englishman, serving on the Australia po- 
lice force, admitted that the English in Australia eat 
snakes. He remarked in the presence of an educated 
Chinaman that he himself had eaten boa-constrictor, and 
that boa-constrictor cutlets were real appetizing. I do 
not care to pose as the champion of this deceptive, un- 
principled, non-Christian race, but I insist on placing 
any dog-eater in a higher category than any snake-eater. 
I believe in "giving the devil his due." 

Hence it is seen that the educated Chinese find a par- 
allel case in America or England for nearly every stricture 
placed upon them. Many parallels may be found, but I 
am convinced that the words China and America ought 
not to be pronounced in the same breath without apology. 
The one, a despotism gangrened by thousands of years 



China. oi 

of bigotry and superstition ; the other, newly born, nur- 
tured under the splendid influence of constitution framers 
who could not undertake their work without first invok- 
ing the blessing of Almighty God ; a nation that annually 
sets apart a day for special prayer and thanksgiving ; the 
freest, greatest, grandest nation beneath the circle of the 
sun. 



VI. 

CHINA— THE INTERNATIONAL PUZZLE. 

The; baby tower — burying alive — sympathy a scarce; 
commodity — hong-kong, the; world's third port — 
the; terraced city by electric eight. 

China is a puzzle to me. The more I see of China 
and things Chinese, the more complex the tangle becomes. 
My trip to Central China convinced me that this vast 
empire is simply trampling upon herself by her own igno- 
rance and superstition. Where Christian educators gain 
a footing, barbarism is slain and right thought paves the 
way to right acting. A few gospel teachers can not trans- 
form teeming millions in a decade, but the families that 
become Christian cast aside the old for the newer and 
better. 

Old China maintains what is called the Baby Tower. 
New China, or Christian China, is as much opposed to the 
Baby Tower as America. The Baby Tower is a sort of 
a "Black Hole of Calcutta," a part of which extends above 
ground with an opening into which children are thrown 
to die when, for any reason, they are no longer wanted in 
the home. Into this catch-all the lifeless bodies of the 
very poor of all ages and sexes are thrown, when, through 
the direst poverty, a decent burial is impossible. The 
decent burial in Chinese eyes is the expensive service 
where an abundance of firecrackers, paid mourners, the 
burning of money, and much feasting is on the program. 

92 



China — The International Puzzle. 03 

Not to comply with the stereotyped form is considered 
disgraceful, an indication of unfilial piety, and all this is 
avoided by having no service whatever, the corpse being 
hurled into the tower at night when no one observes. 

The belief prevails throughout the empire, I am told, 
that any wrong or crime must be detected before it is 
considered a sin. Therefore every act of the vilest life 
is virtuous if unknown to any other person. If a dozen 
witnesses of unimpeachable character testify in court that 
they saw any person commit a crime, the person is pro- 
nounced innocent by the court until the person confesses. 
However, a greater amount of severe punishment is of- 
ten administered to compel the person to confess than is 
afterward given as a penalty for the crime after confes- 
sion. Every evening at five o'clock, people desiring to see 
what is called bambooing prisoners to secure confession, 
or as a penalty for confessed crime or wrong, assemble 
at the prison or court of punishment, and gaze at the 
barbarous treatment as it is administered. It is in vogue 
at Shanghai and at Foochow, and I have reason to believe 
that it is general. The female prisoners are lashed in 
the palms of their hands with sharp, razor-like bamboo 
whips until the blood flows in rivulets. The men are 
stripped until almost naked, and the bamboo switches 
are applied to their naked legs until the parts struck are 
a pulp. It requires no imagination on your part to fully 
comprehend the bloody spectacle. When three hundred 
lashes are prescribed, three men execute the sentence, 
each administering one hundred lashes and with a rapidity 
developed by much practice. While the sharp bamboo is 
doing its work, the writhing, shackled victim emits a 
sort of a sing-song yell, indicative of great pain. If the 
person stands the ordeal well, salt is rubbed into the 
bleeding wounds so that his misery is multiplied. At 



94 



Around the World. 



Foochow, a city of probably half a million, midway be- 
tween Shanghai and Hong-Kong', the Rev. W. H. Lacy 
says the bambooing is the common practice, and that the 
Baby Tower is in general use among the non-Christian 
population. In Foochow, the missionaries passing by this 
blood-freezing tower, have heard the cries of children, 
but were unable to rescue them from their living tomb. 
Interference would mean death. The stench arising from 
this example of national night is nauseating, and to think 
of innocent children being thrust into that receptacle of 
filth, vermin, and death is almost sufficient to arouse one 
to call for the world's knights who are willing to go forth 
and die, if need be, for the emancipation of China. 

Much valuable work is being done and flattering re- 
sults are observable. Many individuals and young peo- 
ple's societies are maintaining schools, especially in the 
Foochow district, and the work is spreading throughout 
the empire. The Bible in the hands of Christian teachers 
has penetrated for two thousand miles up the Yang-tse- 
Kiang, leaving transformation along its pathway. The 
large American Churches have publishing-houses, with 
commodious quarters at Shanghai and other strategic 
points, and he who offers one word of criticism on mis- 
sions, needs to come to China and behold with his own 
eyes the mightiest transformation now in progress in the 
world's history. But if he comes here, lives in a hotel, 
as many do, sees nothing more than the bambooing, fran- 
tic funerals, and Baby Towers, he will say missions are 
a failure, and that we had better call home our repre- 
sentatives. On the other hand, let him make a fair in- 
vestigation, and he will say that the English language 
is impotent to picture the worth of the work already 
accomplished. In Foochow a converted Chinese gave the 
Missionary Society the first $10,000 to build and equip 



China — The International Puzzle. 



95 



a theological school for the training of workers to go out 
and rescue his fellow Chinese from heathenism. 

A college chum of mine, Harry Caldwell, now a 
missionary and stationed near Foochow, was recently at- 
tacked by a tiger, but made a narrow escape. The Chi- 
nese are deathly afraid of the tigers, wild cats, wild dogs, 
leopards, and wolves that are so common here. Four 
tigers attacked four men in a field the other day, and only 
one man escaped; but the loss of one or two persons 
in a family is scarcely noticed, so numerous is the prog- 
eny about every fireside. My friend travels a district, 
and, being a good marksman, killed a wild hog that was 
doing much damage in a certain locality, and thereby 
won the lasting gratitude of the entire community, which 
regards him as a deliverer, not only from religious bond- 
age, but also from the pest of the plains. 

The Chinese are mound-builders to this day. The very 
wealthy, who are scarce, have tombs for the reception 
of the dead; but the multiplied millions, who are in con- 
dition to escape the Baby Tower, are encased in heavy 
wood caskets, placed upon the level ground, and covered 
with dirt, some of the mounds rising many feet in height. 
The expression of "many feet" is not very definite, and 
resembles the statement of the American who described 
an article in question as being about as long as a piece 
of rope. However, the height of the mounds varies so 
much that one can not risk making any certain height the 
standard. Some of the older ones are almost level, on 
account of many beating rains and the consequence of 
time's ravages, while others are more than twenty feet 
in height. The encroachments of the Yang-tse-Kiang 
have worn away many a mound, leaving the caskets pro- 
truding in some instances, while in others the caskets 



q6 Around the World. 

have floated away. If all China is similar to what I 
have seen, I would pronounce it one vast graveyard. 
Looking in any or every direction, the fields present the 
appearance of a vast hayfield with haystacks studding 
every part. Transform these hay-shocks or stacks into 
graves, and your imagination will present to you a vivid 
picture of a Chinese plantation, provided, however, that 
you get them close enough to each other. In places they 
are too close to permit a self-binder to pass through. 
As the Chinese do not use horses, farming among the 
graves is easily performed, and every available square 
foot of ground is utilized. If this burial custom has been 
practiced for two or three thousand years, one does not 
need to wonder why so much ground is now covered 
with mausoleums. I am informed that some of the older 
fields, having become covered with mounds, and therefore, 
worthless for farming, have been purchased by persons 
having no relatives buried therein, and by them have been 
reduced to a level for agricultural purposes. 

Wretchedness in living is caused by wretched think- 
ing. Here the only help, in many instances, that is 
offered to a sick person besides the usual noise is a piece 
of flesh cut from the limb of a child. This piece is cut, 
causing the child much pain ; it is fried and eaten, ex- 
pecting it to cure. Girls, who commit suicide because of 
ill treatment, or because they are taught that it is a last- 
ing disgrace to be born girls, are many in number. Girls 
are frequently punished by being stripped, beaten, and 
hung up by the feet to the ceiling. Girls and women are 
driven like cattle from place to place and sold. If they 
refuse to walk, wheelbarrows or carts are provided for 
their transportation. During one month the merchants 
reported that they could not secure carts to transfer their 
merchandise, as they were all engaged in the lighter and 



China — The International Puzzle. 



97 



more lucrative business of carrying women and girls for 
sale. 

An Englishman employed at Shanghai asserts that 
many grown people who die are neither buried nor thrown 
into the Baby Tower, but are fed to the dogs. Some 
crush the body of the deceased to an indistinguishable 
mass in order to prevent the devil which inhabits it from 
returning to vex the family. Some drag heavy chains 
through the street, expecting the pest devil or cholera 
devil to get into the chain and be crushed. If a person 
is taken sick with what they consider a contagious disease, 
he is put into a room, the doors are barred, and the per- 
son is poked with a long pole now and then, to learn 
whether he is dead. 

The lack of sympathy is general. A foreign ship 
while on fire was run ashore where the Yang-tse-Kiang 
empties into the sea. Instead of assisting the survivors 
to escape, the Chinese robbed the passengers, who swam 
ashore, took their clothes, and several were murdered, 
A Chinese hotel-keeper refused to admit some very cold 
persons because he thought they might die on his hands. 
They remained out in the cold and died. Formerly a 
favorite mode of punishment was to bury the person alive. 
The Shanghai paper gave an account of a person being 
given two thousand strokes with the bamboo, and then 
having his ankles broken with a hammer. One man says 
he saw prisoners being taken to jail with their hands 
nailed to a cart because the constable failed to bring his 
handcuffs. The Chinese, like the Japanese, laugh, when 
crying is more appropriate if there is to be any demon- 
stration of sentiment. Two men laughed to see dogs 
eating a corpse on the roadside. It is reported of a Chi- 
nese that he laughed to see his most constant companion 
dying. That is no more of a shock, coming from a Chi- 
7 



q8 Around the World. 

nese, than the excuse of a French lady, who requested 
her maid to return the card of a lady caller waiting at 
the door, and to inform her that she was extremely sorry 
that the visit must be postponed as she was then "engaged 
in dying." 

Judging from appearances, the Chinees take pains to 
misunderstand and misdirect. I came to the conclusion 
that one would be as safe in doing the opposite from 
what a Chinese says as to follow his instructions. Their 
indefinite manner of expressing their thoughts has been 
likened unto that of the witness in an English court who 
described a fight as follows : "He 'd a stick, and he 'd 
a stick, and he w'acked he, and he w'acked he, and if 
he 'd a w'acked he as hard as he w'acked he, he 'd a 
killed he and not he he." 

However, the Chinese are no more faulty in the use 
of English than the Japanese. The purser of the steam- 
boat from the north into Hong-Kong, desiring to be quite 
friendly, asked me several questions concerning my visit 
in Japan. Among others, he asked, "Did you meet Rev. 
G. F. Draper, of Yokohama?" I answered that I had 
dined twice under his hospitable roof, to which he re- 
sponded, "When I was married, he performed the cere- 
mony; my wife is a graduate of his Church." But we 
should be lenient with others, as we are frequently guilty 
of butchering our own language ourselves. I have no 
time in my writing to discriminate in the use of words 
or to systematize my subject matter, being always pressed 
for time, and frequently, while riding a heavy sea or 
surrounded by strange sights and hearing ominous sounds 
in strange lands, I am almost in a semi-quandary as to 
whether I am "afoot or a-horseback." 

An English paper, the North China Daily Times, 
printed at Shanghai, in its issue of last Monday, gave an 



China — The International Puzzle. gg 

account of a ship that just drifted ashore on the coast of 
Formosa. It proved to be the new schooner Otelia Peder- 
son, bound from America to Hong-Kong, laden with tim- 
ber, which left Puget Sound in advance of the Empress 
of Japan. That ill-fated ocean vessel contended valiantly 
in an unequal contest with the storm, but surrendered to 
the inevitable when all hope of riding that awful storm 
was abandoned. The rope that might have been taken 
for a sea-serpent which I saw on the sea — mention of 
which was duly made in my sea article — was doubtless a 
a part of the foundered ship's equipment. The pres- 
ence of the floating rope is circumstantial evidence that 
we were on the track of some craft with blasted hopes. 
When moments of quiet are mine, that horrid, seething, 
hissing, moaning, blood-curdling storm in midocean re- 
produces itself on the scroll of memory, causing me to 
wonder whether the maddened waters were ever known 
to pile up to such wicked heights before. 

Approaching Hong-Kong, vessels appeared as if ris- 
ing out of the sea, their prows turned towards a common 
opening among the headlands. Black cannon looked 
down upon us from many a craggy hilltop, indicating a 
fortified stronghold. A pilot came aboard the ship as we 
were threading the narrows, and guided us safely to 
anchorage among the multitudinous ships, crafts, from 
nearly every port on the globe. Cruisers, gunboats, and 
battleships of eight nations were present, and in num- 
bers surpassing any naval pageantry of which I have any 
knowledge. In Asiatic waters there are to-day one hun- 
dred and thirty-five floating man-killers, forty-five belong- 
ing to Great Britain, twenty-three to Russia, twenty-one 
to France, sixteen to the United States, thirteen to Ger- 
many, four to Italy, two to Portugal, and one to Austria. 
Our battleship Kentucky made a splendid appearance as 



L.oFC. 



IOO Around the World. 

she rested in tlie water alongside the British battleship 
Glory, although the Stars and Stripes were floating over 
a mass of mechanism two thousand tons the inferior. 
Near this quiet pair lay the United States gunboat York- 
town and the British battleship Ocean, the former regis- 
tering only seventeen hundred and ten tons, while the lat- 
ter tipped the beam at twelve thousand nine hundred and 
fifty tons. I shall not make further individual mention, 
but pass this powerful fleet by, hoping that these vicious- 
looking guns observable on every ship will never thunder 
at each other, but remain giant guardians of now peace- 
ful nations. 

I dined twice with the captain and chaplain of the 
British squadron. In comparing the American and Brit- 
ish navies, the captain remarked : "Your ships and equip- 
ments are better than ours. Your machinery for handling 
the big guns, electric, hydraulic, and ventilating appa- 
ratus surpasses ours, but our gunners are better marks- 
men, as we have a longer term of enlistments, while your 
men are just in gunning trim when they are let go. You 
do not let your men have enough target practice." This 
frank admission of the conditional superiority of the 
American navy was indeed a surprise to me, coming as 
it did from such a source. Those not thoroughly ac- 
quainted with America and her almost exhaustless re- 
sources are surprised at the rapidity manifested by the 
United States in leaping to the zenith among the nations 
as a world power. The badge of American citizenship 
is a possession for which no apology is needed. It com- 
mands universal respect, and pitiable is the plight of the 
few who act and talk as if they were ashamed of their 
brand. The few who are everlastingly apologizing for 
their fatherhood ought to migrate to China, where they 
can wallow in the embrace of an oblivious past, or go to 



China — The International Puzzle. iol 

Japan. But Japan would not welcome them, as she has 
no standing-room within her domain for even the most 
gifted sons of earth if they are permeated with traitorous 
guilt. 

Hong-Kong is an island eleven miles in length and 
from two to four miles in width. The name for the city 
is Victoria, but it is almost universally called Hong-Kong. 
Tickets bear the name of Hong-Kong instead of Vic- 
toria, and I think it would be the part of wisdom to drop 
the word Victoria entirely. The city contains 205,000 
Chinese, 4,269 Europeans and Americans, 7,263 Portu- 
guese, 2,872 Indians, Eurasians, and other races, such 
as Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Javanese, Japanese, Cin- 
galese, and Malays, making nearly 220,000 in all. Splen- 
didly lighted with electricity and gas, Hong-Kong pre- 
sents a picturesque sight at night. Standing at the wharf, 
one may view the city at a glance, sweeping in his 
range of vision miles of terraees reaching from the bund, 
water front, to the peak, where the Peak Hotel proudly 
sits, monarch of all it surveys. Executing an "about 
face," the beholder observes a floating city blazing with 
electric splendor, every steamship, men-of-war, and all, 
apparently striving to outdo its neighbors in the bril- 
liancy of its illuminations. 

The acreage of the bay where the vessels are an- 
chored and the number of ships in port being so great, 
division into wards has been necessary in order to locate 
the vessels. A directory of the vessels is kept by the 
harbor-master, indicating their presence and position, 
making it possible to find any particular ship when freight 
is consigned or passage taken to any other port. I am 
told that Hong-Kong is the world's third port in im- 
portance. Here the American fleet was anchored when 
Admiral Dewey received the cablegram directing him to 



102 Around the World. 

proceed at once to Manila, engage, and sink the Spanish 
fleet. The American people will remember Hong-Kong 
for the hospitable treatment accorded our fleet in offering 
her harbor as a coaling station at a time when such cor- 
diality meant success to the American navy. Deprived of 
a coaling station, our splendid equipment would have been 
powerless, and the Spanish submarine fleet would have 
had longer respite from Dewey's belching batteries. At 
six o'clock every morning reverberating peals fill every 
street, valley, and hillside with the thundering clamor of 
cannon on the men-of-war and land fortifications, saying 
to John Chinaman in well-accented words, "Be-good, or 
we '11-get-you," "Be-good, or we '11-get-you." 

The crude idea of the Chinese causes them to paint 
"eyes" on the bow of ships. Even the little sampans and 
junks are not complete without the "eyes," as the res- 
idents of the Flowery Kingdom say, "If no have eyes, how 
can see go?" The men-of-war used by the Chinese in 
their war with Japan were of English and French man- 
ufacture, and consequently without "eyes." It was an 
oversight that the necessary "eyes" were not painted 
on the vessels when purchased, say the Chinese, and they 
still credit the defeat of their navy to the fact that 
their vessels were unable to see, and thereby unable to 
dodge the enemy's shells and torpedoes. 

After a wreck on the Tientsin-Peking Railroad, the 
official made report thereof to the government, stating 
that the disaster was caused by the absence of "eyes," 
which ought to be painted on the engine. 

The Chinese as well as the Japanese pronounce R as 
L, a shortcoming which often places them in ludicrous 
positions. Bishop Moore tells the story of a table waiter 
who undertook to ask a Mrs. Rouse if she would have 



China — The International Puzzle. 



103 



some rice. Data as to the outcome of the incident must 
remain unrecorded. 

Several Chinese, who had learned enough English to 
associate the name of Jesus Christ with the Christian 
religion, were observing a detachment of American sol- 
diers who were at the task of butchering a beef. Every 
time any soldier would bring his large cleaver down with 
all his strength upon any part of the beef he would in- 
variably shout the name of the world's Christmas Gift. 
Whereupon the Chinese remarked that America was 
blessed with soldiers who are very religious, not knowing 
that the men were swearing. To the credit of the Chi- 
nese it is said that their language is so constructed that 
it will not admit of swearing. 



VII. 

THE PHILIPPINES. 

MANILA AND ITS TRANSFORMATION LAZINESS AS A FIL- 
IPINO ART ONE-HUNDRED-MILE TRIP TO THE INTERIOR 

OF LUZON — THE LADRONES- — VISIT WITH AGUINALDO. 

I have learned that it is impossible for a person to 
write exhaustively concerning a people without associ- 
ating with that people for a considerable length of time. 
However, some things are plainer than the nose on a man's 
face, and with these I will pitch my tent. I am unin- 
structed as to what to write on the Philippine question, 
and therefore have no ax to grind, not being a politician. 
An episode connected with my appearance in Manila 
teaches me that the American people have been deceived 
by certain newspaper corrspondents, who have sold out 
the truth for gold. Before my arrival it was known that 
I represented an American newspaper, and on the strength 
of such knowledge I was offered a snug consideration, 
amounting to about $100 in gold, if I would agree to 
color my articles with questionable utterances according 
to certain specifications. On account of my offer, I fly to 
the conclusion that others less conscientious, being less 
able to resist a strong temptation, have bartered the truth 
for a price and have dealt out error to a truth-seeking 
people. My would-be briber indulged in a tirade against 
the United States that ranked him in my estimation as 
one who would drive a dagger to the very heart of his 

104 



The Philippines. I05 

Fatherland. He insisted that those on the other side from 
him would endeavor to buy me and get me to write 
flatteringly of them and their cause, declaring that every 
newspaper here was bought up and controlled by Ad- 
ministration men ; that any one who endeavored to pre- 
sent the facts as they stand was throttled and driven out 
of business ; that the one who exposed or endeavored to 
expose the government officials was branded as a sedi- 
tious person and worthy of deportation. Uninfluenced 
by either side, I have examined the situation as thoroughly 
as time permits, and have gleaned the following, which I 
present as worthy of consideration. 

I am informed that men have published articles which 
enthused the insurrectos. Said articles being declared 
libelous by a proper court, the authors have suffered pun- 
ishment, one side claiming that the penalties were just, 
the other that injustice prevailed. One side claimed al- 
most absolute liberty of speech, the other proceeded on 
the ground that anything that aided an enemy or caused 
the enemy to discount the honesty of the government 
ought to be suppressed. I interviewed the manager of 
an English firm, who asserts that the customs, taxes, and 
duties are much more severe under American rule than 
was ever experienced under Spanish domination. Those 
who favor the present system answer the English crit- 
icism by urging that the English pout because they do not 
own the archipelago, and always comment unfavorably 
upon the American occupation, management, and rule of 
the islands. They say that the Americans, not being in 
the colonial business, do not understand the management 
of far-off possessions. Business men of other nations ar- 
gue that, all things being considered, the present condi- 
tions are far superior to the best that obtained under the 
Spanish flag, and that the English and Spanish are too 



Io6 Around the World. 

slow to compete with the pushing Americans. All classes 
are a unit in agreeing that great credit is due the Amer- 
icans for transforming Manila into a clean city, main- 
taining order by employing American police, and clear- 
ing the islands of many bands of outlaws that have been 
a menace to progress for hundreds of years. The Manila 
police are Americans, three-fourths of whom, it is said, 
are college men or graduates of high schools. 

The progressive, enterprising Filipino is thankful for 
American occupation, because he can now till the soil 
knowing that his crops can be gathered in safety, whereas 
he has heretofore been in constant uneasiness lest the 
ladrones (outlaws) should sweep down upon him and 
relieve him of all the fruits of his labor. The lazy, pil- 
fering, good-for-nothing class is sadly disappointed with 
American rule, because they can no longer live by help- 
ing themselves to the contents of their neighbors' grana- 
ries. The commission recently passed a vagrancy act, re- 
quiring every man to show some visible means of sup- 
port, or work or go to jail. The first person convicted 
under the vagrancy act was an American. Such a sweep- 
ing proposition is beyond the comprehension of the aver- 
age Filipino, who has accustomed himself to a happy-go- 
lucky way of meeting the rising sun. He is shocked to 
have his personal liberty taken away, and longs for the 
good old times when the Spanish joined them in a life 
of idleness. Under Spanish rule the wages paid a Fil- 
ipino was twenty cents (Mex.), while to-day he is paid 
one dollar and fifty cents per day (Mex.). 

The better class, so far as I have learned, are per- 
fectly delighted with the American policy, while the lower 
class, who give the army so much trouble, are bitterly 
opposed to the new-fangled notions of our energetic na- 
tion of the Occident. Some very conservative Americans 



The Philippines. 107 

in Manila wonder that there is not more opposition to 
these advanced ideas, for the Filipino has lived in a trop- 
ical sun through the centuries. Bananas, oranges, and all 
kinds of fruit grow in abundance about his door; the fish 
fill his nets till they break ; the climate being warm, he 
needs few clothes ; hence, why should he work ? With 
so much providence on his side it is a wonder that he 
does as much as is to his credit. 

I have just returned from a hundred-mile tour into 
the interior, and I am absolutely amazed at what has been 
accomplished by the boys who marched under the Stars 
and Stripes. No historian will ever be able to chronicle 
the hardships endured patiently by the American sol- 
diers. Under a burning sun they marched, wading or 
swimming swollen rivers, sleeping upon damp ground or 
in dashing rain that descended in raging torrents, facing 
poisoned bullets by day and risking treacherous bolos by 
night — on they went, until the last band of the most 
treacherous, unprincipled guerrillas that ever faced a 
brave man was either captured or driven into the fast- 
nesses of the mountain forests. In a land where the ac- 
climated natives grow lazy and the Americans find work 
unappetizing, the boys in blue were forced to labor in 
the face of difficuties towering mountains high. 

I have visited Southern battlefields in company with 
officers who there won their laurels, and I would not de- 
tract an iota, if I could, from the luster of the deeds the 
rank and file inscribed upon history's crimson page, nor 
minimize the excellency of their service, but I would 
insist that the archives of American history will be in- 
complete that fail to glisten with entablatures portraying 
the self-sacrificing heroism of the brave boys who, an- 
swering their country's call, marched in the face of death 



io8 Around the World. 

through the Philippines. That war has cost much blood 
and treasure, but that does not alter the fact that almost 
infinitely more has been accomplished by the American 
soldier than the people at home have placed to their credit. 
I am not philosophizing over the problem of the right or 
the wrong of the American flag being planted in the Arch- 
ipelago, but am endeavoring to portray facts as they ap- 
pear to an impartial writer. Right or wrong, the past 
is a fact, and must be dealt with as such. But what to 
do with the islands is the problem of the twentieth cen- 
tury. The greatest wisdom must be exercised by Con- 
gress and the Taft Commission in order to steer the Ship 
of State safely through the quieting of the present storm 
into the harbor of the future without running aground. 

About forty miles out from Manila an American sol- 
dier told that a Tennessee sharpshooter was sent from 
an outpost to headquarters with fifteen prisoners. He 
arrived at headquarters alone and reported that he was 
sent to report with fifteen prisoners of war. On being 
asked where his men were, he replied that they all tried 
to get away and were then strung along the road dead 
as sardines. The sight of fifteen dead Filipinos along the 
roadside is not conducive to the creation of love for the 
soldier, and I have no doubt that it would be wrong 
to all concerned to appoint soldliers to certain positions. 
Several times I inquired whether I was safe, and was 
invariably informed that I was if I had not been a soldier, 
or if I had been I must not let it be known. 

At Calumpit, a city of fourteen thousand Filipinos, I 
went everywhere, being accompanied by only three Amer- 
icans and one native, the Rev. Nicholas Zamora, who is 
regarded as the Demosthenes or Patrick Henry of the 
Archipelago. As a preacher he is a cyclone. He is pas- 
tor of the largest church in Manila, and is in the employ 



The Philippines. 109 

of the missionary society, his half-tone having recently 
appeared in American papers. 

The report having reached Manila that a native 
preacher and leading members of his flock were in jail at 
Calumpit, forty-six miles out, we decided to investigate 
the matter in order to see that justice might be adminis- 
tered if the persons were guilty of some offense, and 
their freedom secured if guiltless. On our arrival we 
learned that a Spaniard, having observed that the religion 
apparently imported from America was gaining ground 
by leaps and bounds, and thinking that something ought 
to be done at once to check its progress, laid in wait for 
an excuse to strike it a blow. Accordingly he attended a 
meeting, and noticing that a collection was taken, then 
went out and took oath that a meeting was being held 
and money was being raised to assist the insurgents, 
and that the meeting was held to defy the United States 
Government. Nine of the leading ones were summoned 
to appear before a Spanish justice of the peace, who, it 
seems, with the other Spaniards in the islands, would be 
glad to have them raise money for the ladrones. The 
presidente, a Spaniard, committed them to jail. They 
had been in jail four days when we reached them, and they 
received us as gladly behind the bars as if we were angels 
of mercy. Passing into the jail, I noticed a Filipino 
guard lying within the door, his rifle by his side and a 
well-filled belt of cartridges about his waist. I shall not 
forget the hearty handshake and the smiles of gratitude 
that were in evidence as we four filed into the hall of pros- 
ecution. 

It is said the Filipino is absolutely devoid of the sense 
of gratitude. I want to set my testimony against the 
utter falsity of that accusation. If I ever saw an evidence 
of gratitude anywhere, it was manifested within that 



no Around the World. 

Calumpit jail. I have traveled almost ten thousand miles 
on this journey and would willingly double the distance, 
if need be, through sunshine and storm, surrounded by 
dangers, for an experience that would do me an equal 
amount of good. Heroism for gospel truth and fidelity to 
God are not dead. When America presents to the Filipino 
the gospel instead of the bullet, evidences of gratitude 
will be abundant, and no two-by-four scantling news- 
paper correspondent will then need to apologize for the 
Filipino's lack of gratitude for what Uncle Sam has done 
for the Archipelago. 

Questioning these prisoners as to how they were 
treated, they replied through our interpreter : 'We are 
not permitted to hold any kind of service. Can not sing 
a song. Our food comes from the door of heaven; our 
friends who are Christians bring us our meals from their 
homes." The rear of the jail was left open so they could 
escape, as the Spanish authorities say they had no case, 
and evidently desired to have them break jail, as they 
might term it, and then bring a genuine case against 
them. But the Christians were not to be fooled in that 
manner. The guard went to sleep as another inducement, 
but that ruse failed. The Spanish presidente saw that 
our presence meant business, and, knowing that there 
were no grounds for a case whatever, tried to clear him- 
self by turning it over to the Court of First Instance, 
presided over by an American judge, who was only too 
anxious to free the persecuted ones. But this does not 
end of the matter. The American officials say that the 
Spanish trickery will cost that official his place and stand 
as a warning to other Spaniards who occupy similar posi- 
tions. A religious controversy is on now, but I shall not 
entangle myself with it, although it was thoroughly ex- 
plained to me by Governor Taft during my first interview 



The Philippines. HI 

with him at the palace. If Governor Taft were as popular 
in America as he appears to be in Manila, he would get 
almost anything he might be pleased to ask for. 

I am, indeed, sorry that the Philippine question has 
political signification in the States; but since no political 
party is a unit in its attitude toward the solution of this 
tremendous elephant, I set forth the facts as I find them, 
without a grain of coloring to correspond with any pre- 
conceived ideas, being willing to let the truth apply itself 
as it may. 

At Nagasaki I conversed with several soldiers aboard 
the transport Thomas, on their way from Manila to San 
Francisco. Every soldier with whom I talked said : "Bet- 
ter not go to Manila. The constabulary are all going 
over to the insurgents with their rifles and ammunition. 
The authorities at Manila, fearing an uprising at any mo- 
ment, are throwing up barricades and digging intrench- 
ments about Manila in order to protect the city." From 
Shanghai to Hong-Kong, Lieutenant Wigmore, serving 
on the staff of General Davis, and I occupied the same 
cabin. On relating the statements of the soldiers to him, 
he requested that I say nothing about it to Mrs. Davis 
and daughters, who were also on the same steamship 
with us, as it would cause them considerable uneasiness, 
General Davis having his headquarters in Manila at the 
time. 

Such conditions were not attractive to one contem- 
plating a visit to the Philippine metropolis, but sufficient 
courage was mustered on my arrival at Hong-Kong to 
cause me to buy a round-trip ticket. Having a fast ves- 
sel, a voyage of a day and a half brought us in sight of 
Luzon's northwestern point, a half-day's sail from Manila. 
With a good glass we could see smoke rising as if a great 
battle might be in progress; but, as we neared the shore 



H2 Around the World. 

an hour later, it was evident that the natives were busy 
burning trash preparatory to planting rice. At one o'clock 
P. M. we passed Corregidor Island, and in less than two 
hours Cavite and Manila were reached. United States 
men-of-war and craft from the world's ports were every- 
where, but no sound of musketry or the whoop of war- 
riors bold was heard. We landed, passed the usual cus- 
tom-house examination, and arrived at our hotel without 
being killed or even boloed. Colonels, majors, captains, 
lieutenants, and business men galore were all about me, 
and I soon learned that the soldiers' story was a fake; 
that the nearest point to Manila, at which any fortifying 
was ever done by the Americans, was seven miles out, 
and that was in 1899; that there were no insurgents any- 
where in the islands now under arms excepting ladrones 
(outlaws), who are in hiding in the southernmost islands 
(several, however, I learn, are to be found even in the 
suburbs of Manila) ; that some of the provinces had 
elected American governors by direct vote of the people ; 
and that such a state of peace had been attained that the 
prisoners of war were turned loose by proclamation last 
July ; that multitudes of prisoners swelled the ladrone 
ranks and added fuel to the flames. 

I was informed that Aguinaldo has no following what- 
ever, it being doubtful whether he could be elected to the 
smallest office by his own people, because he was untrue 
to them in many ways. In the first place, the Filipinos 
claim that Aguinaldo was in the campaign for what he 
could get out of it. When he co-operated with the 
American forces aginst the Spanish, he ordered his men 
to loot the city when Manila was taken. They began, but 
were stopped by the American officers, saying that loot- 
ing would not be tolerated, whereupon Aguinaldo ordered 
his men to fire upon the American soldiers. War was 



The Philippines. II-? 

on. Aguinaldo kept his agents out collecting money from 
the Filipinos with which to carry on the war. Instead of 
paying the soldiers with the cash collected, Aguinaldo 
kept it, sending it to Hong-Kong as fast as large amounts 
were accumulated, his soldiers remaining unpaid. He has 
the money now on deposit in Hong-Kong, and expects 
to open a bank of his own, being wealthy and living 
in luxury. 

The discovery of the Philippines in 1521 is credited to 
Magellan. The group embraces about five hundred is- 
lands, having an area of one hundred and forty thou- 
sand square miles, and a population of seven million. 
The eight larger islands, named in order according to 
area and beginning with the largest, are : Luzon, Min- 
danao, Samar, Mindoro, Panay, Leyte, Negros, and Cebu. 
Manila, the largest city, and located on Luzon, has a 
population estimated at three hundred and fifty thou- 
sand. The chief products of the islands are hemp, to- 
bacco, sugar, coffee, indigo, cotton, corn, bananas, or- 
anges, pineapples, cocoanuts, and mangoes. It is approx- 
imated that less than one-tenth of the soil is cultivated, 
and that a sufficient number of cocoanuts are not gath- 
ered each year to enrich a small kingdom. The total ex- 
ports last year of all commodities were $20,761,268, or 
about $51,900,000 (Mex.). There are vast forests of 
ebony, camphor, and teak, while gold, copper, petroleum, 
coal, and sulphur are in evidence. The public buildings 
erected by the Spanish which fell into the hands of the 
United States under the twenty-million purchase clause of 
the treaty of Paris, are alone worth millions. The presence 
of Filipino millionaires living in palatial dwellings, 
erected at enormous expense in the city of Manila, is 
indeed a surprise to me, as my imagination had pictured 
8 



114 Around the World. 

the metropolis of the Philippines as an aggregation of 
shacks. 

Manila is to have electric cars to supplant those now 
plying her streets, which are drawn by ponies. Each car 
bears the inscription on either side, "Tranvias de Fil- 
ipinas." I have never visited a city in which transpor- 
tation facilities were in greater demand, nor have I ever 
seen Chicago or New York more crowded with vehicles 
or pedestrians. 

One could scarcely imagine a more delightful drive 
than that afforded by the Lunetta, Manila's popular re- 
sort. Here may be seen numerous costly rubber-tired 
carriages, drawn by prancing steeds imported from Aus- 
tralia. Society as seen here can easily give the bon-tons 
of America lessons in expensive equipments. Governor 
Taft gave a reception at the Malacanan Palace Thursday 
evening, where Spaniards, Filipinos, and Americans min- 
gled as joyfully as if no cruel bullets had ever measured 
the distance between the lines of rival armies. My friend 
assured me that he had seen a Filipino lady at a similar 
function wearing diamonds worth at least one hundred 
thousand dollars. The musical program at this reception 
was rendered by Filipino ladies, who are noted for their 
musical skill. It is said that a Filipino takes to music 
as a duck takes to water. The table containing gener- 
ous refreshments measured ten feet in diameter, being 
made in one piece from a section of a tree brought from 
Mindoro. The mammoth trees in the Philippines sur- 
prised me. 

Great strides are being made commercially, which 
the Filipinos see, and credit to American occupation. 
Under Spanish rule an Englishman rented a property, 
taking a lease at $50 per month for a term of thirty years. 
He now rents it for $500 per month, and I met a man 



The Philippines. 1 1 r 

who will give $700 per month for it. Before the Amer- 
icans came a man offered a piece of property for $147. 
No one wanted it at that figure. He sold it recently 
for $6,000. It is a common saying that things leap to 
mountain heights when Uncle Sam stamps them with 
his brand. The natives seem to be delighted to be mar- 
ried by American clergymen, a conclusion proven by the 
fact that my clergyman friend has officiated at thirteen 
hundred marriages in eighteen months, a record unap- 
proached in America. 

A purchasing agent for the insular government in- 
forms me that Manila offers splendid inducements for a 
hardware firm, there being but one place in the city 
where one can purchase a full stock of carpenter and ma- 
chinist tools, and that place is owned and operated by a 
Chinaman, who has cleared over $200,000 the past two 
years in a room not over forty feet square. The pro- 
prietor of the Oriente Hotel, the best in the city, has 
cleared $70,000 the past two years. All hotels are usually 
crowded. It is a wonder that some manufacturer of rope 
does not set up a factory here. At present hemp is shipped 
to Hong-Kong, made into rope, and shipped back, the 
dealer paying a heavy duty. Saloon-keepers complain 
that their business is very dull, as so many soldiers have 
been returned to the States, and the natives, as a rule, 
do not patronize them. A man who has lived here two 
and a half years asserts that he has seen only two intox- 
icated natives. A cocoanut soap factory would be a pay- 
ing proposition here. At present the soap makers of Ger- 
many are heavy purchasers of that particular product. 

From the department of public land I learn that there 
are fifty million acres of government land in the Phil- 
ippines. That part which is covered with mammoth 
trees is worth hundreds of dollars per acre. To nearly 



Ii6 Around the World. 

every official I have put the following question, "Did the 
American government pay too much when it gave $20,- 
000,000 in settling with Spain ?" In every case the answer 
has come that the sum paid represents only the smallest 
fraction of the value of the possessions, causing one to 
call in question the ethics of getting so much by paying 
so little. But the question takes on a different dress when 
the cost of holding the islands is considered in treasure 
and blood. On the other hand, many of the Filipinos 
look upon the Americans as deliverers, as the Americans 
first delivered them from the iron hand of the Spaniards, 
and secondly from the ladrones, who have been a menace 
to progress for three hundred years. The ladrones are 
Filipinos, but are to the honest Filipinos what the James 
boys were to honest Americans. There are doubtless hun- 
dreds of ladrones, and possibly thousands, now in Ma- 
nila and vicinity, not so much in opposition to the Amer- 
ican flag, but engaged in disposing of the loot being 
brought into the city by their confederates throughout the 
islands. I was very particular in questioning Governor 
Taft regarding the ladrones, and will here outline, not 
quoting verbatim, such of his remarks as may appeal to 
me to be of general interest. 

The ladrones are a band of outlaws, who have flour- 
ished for three hundred years, were regarded by the Fil- 
ipinos as a necessary evil to be endured. Around some 
of their leaders stories of the Robin Hood type clus- 
tered, and to this day the average Filipino is usually 
afraid to give information against a well-known ladrone, 
fearing the wrath of the one informed against. Every one 
knows of the nameless cruelty that characterizes the la- 
drone's dealings with any object of his hatred. Ladrones 
have buried soldiers alive ; have tortured them in a thou- 
sand ways, taking their life an inch at a time. Being 



The Philippines. uy 

unable to contend with our soldiers, they are engaged in 
their old practice of looting by night and hiding by day. 
Having gotten their loot into Manila, it is easily sold. 
We are now doing our best to keep them out of the 
city. The governors of all the provinces are co-operating 
with the constabulary and the army in stamping ladronism 
out of the islands. It will be done, but it may take time. 
Another difficulty we have to contend with is the pres- 
ence in the Philippines of a certain undesirable class of 
Americans who take pride in causing us all the trouble 
possible. 

They send untrue reports to American papers. For 
instance, I saw an account in a daily paper that the con- 
stabulary in Samar had gone over to the ladrones and in- 
surrectos, and that four thousand men were after our 
forces, many being shot. Being used to false reports, I 
paid no attention to the newspaper article and awaited 
official news, as I have responsible men throughout the 
islands and am informed officially regarding every move- 
ment. In less than two days I received the expected re- 
port, but instead of receiving the news set forth in the 
newspaper article, I was informed that a member of the 
constabulary had been shot by one of his party by acci- 
dent, and the four thousand ladrones were a handful of 
men whom our forces were driving back, and their cap- 
ture was expected in a few days. In answer to my ques- 
tion about the papers being bought by the Administra- 
tion or Administration men, he said that the incessant 
falsifying of the army and government would cease if 
such were the case. 

We visited Aguinaldo at his home in Manila about 
seven o'clock in the evening. He met us at the door 
dressed in white. He lives on the second floor, as nearly 
all Filipinos and Americans do, horses and carriages oc- 



H 8 Around the World. 

cupying the first floor. In the room to the left of the 
entrance were a half dozen women and children ; the room 
to the right being unoccupied, we were led thither, and 
given chairs. On being introduced at the door by our 
interpreter, an old acquaintance of the Filipino general, 
a hearty handshake followed, assuring us that we were 
welcome. Prior to his military campaigning, he was a 
schoolteacher at Cavite. Through the series of cross- 
questionings to which he has been subjected, he has shown 
remarkable shrewdness. If he does not want to answer a 
question directly, he knows exactly how to evade the 
point at issue by a system of answering that would have 
been creditable to the Greek oracle. 

Governor Taft said that the Filipino's ability to evade 
the truth was his most marked characteristic. I was 
impressed that Emelio Aguinaldo was uneasy, real un- 
easy, about something. He is pleased that the army 
officials did not behead him, but gave him his liberty. From 
what I have gathered, his apparent uneasiness arises from 
the advertising given him by Airs. Gougar, who sug- 
gested his name for the "Presidency of the real Filipino 
Republic yet to be estabished." He has no ambition in 
that direction, but is anxious about his proposed mam- 
moth banking project, application for which has gone to 
the War Department. His son is attending an English 
school in Manila, the teacher being an American lady 
on the pay-roll of the Insular government. On being 
told that the teacher had remarked that his son was 
very bright and did everything in a military way, possess- 
ing a military bearing, Mr. Aguinaldo was quite pleased, 
and was so glad to hear it that he requested the inter- 
preter to repeat the statement, which he did, causing 
smiles of gladness to chase each other over his counte- 
nance. I was glad to note this evidence of appreciation 



The Philippines. no 

On the part of a father. If appearances are to be relied 
upon, Aguinaldo is no more than twenty-four years of 
age. But considering his history, I would not be sur- 
prised to learn that he has passed the thirty-fourth sum- 
mer. In height he is above the average Filipino, though 
he lacks inches of reaching my shoulders, a measurement 
taken as I bade him good-bye in the vestibule. 

I was fortunate in being in Manila at a time when 
all the provincial governors were in the city. After meet- 
ing them at the Taft reception, together with the cardinal 
sent from Rome by the Pope to adjust the friars' claims, 
I also saw them as the artillery, cavalry, and infantry 
marched in review around the Lunetta in honor of the 
governors' visit. As the majority of the governors are 
Filipinos and one battalion of the army marching in 
review was composed of Filipinos wearing American uni- 
forms and carrying American guns under the American 
flag, it is needless to state that the applause was terrific 
when that battalion marched by with perfect step, each 
soldier as proud as if he were king of the universe. I 
questioned their former commander in regard to their 
loyalty. He replied that no American soldier was more 
loyal than they. I saw some of Dewey's compliments in 
Manila, holes made by his well-trained cannon. 

One of the interesting places to visit in Manila is the 
"boneyard," so called because there the bones or unde- 
cayed bodies of the dead are thrown when the rent for 
any reason is not paid at the mortuary. I walked through 
this hideous place amid putrescent skulls and bones, and 
was very glad when the task was over. 

Harbor improvements to cost $3,000,000 are now in 
progress. When completed, the largest ships can dis- 
charge their cargo without the bothersome and expensive 
transhipment now a necessity. 



120 Around the World. 

Through interviews with American schoolteachers, I 
learn that the native children are quick in mastering 
the English language. One teacher asserts that a class 
of girls aged twelve, beginning last June, have translated 
an English book of one hundred and twenty-five pages 
into Tagalog. He also says that they are obedient, 
having had less trouble in controlling four hundred Tag- 
alogs than he experienced in managing twenty Americans. 
This teacher has a dictionary of seven thousand Tagalog 
words ready for the printer. The natives provide the 
school building and pay the native teachers, while the 
Insular government pays the American teachers, and 
provides American text-books gratis. Through Dr. F. W. 
Atkinson, superintendent of the Department of Education, 
I learn that while much has been accomplished, the work 
is not yet thoroughly organized according to his ideal. 
Several Filipinos are now in America as students, and 
many more are arranging to enter the States for study. 
So great is the desire to attend American schools that 
provinces and towns are planning to pay the expenses of 
students in America who manifest extraordinary genius. 

Some Americans thrive here physically, while many 
others, not so easily acclimated, become little more than 
walking skeletons, and are forced to sail for China or 
Japan on periodical vacations. Occasionally this tropical 
climate sends its victim on that longest of vacations, with- 
out the convenience of a return ticket. 

I shall not venture to draw my bow in a political 
discussion of the Philippine question, but simply submit 
my observation, though very much abbreviated, and shall 
consider my detour to the Archipelago not vain if per- 
chance I have succeeded in helping any one in his under- 
standing of the Philippine situation by the introduction 
of even one diminutive ray of light. 



VIII. 
CHINA REVISITED. 

MANILA TO HONG-KONG BRITISH-AMERICAN BOAT-RACE — 

CANTON, THE) UNIVERSITY CITY — DECEPTION AN ART — 
THE EXECUTION GROUND. 

Desiring a more extended acquaintance with Chi- 
nese life as it appears inland, I sailed ninety miles up the 
Pearl River to Canton, a city whose population is esti- 
mated at three million people, two hundred thousand 
of whom live in house-boats or junks on the river. Many 
of them are aged, and, it is said, have never stepped upon 
land, born, marry, and grow old in floating hovels. 

Canton is not only the largest, but is also the most 
unique, city I ever saw. Not a wheeled vehicle was to be 
seen, and only two or three horses, which appeared more 
lonesome in that sea of humanity than I imagined I 
looked. An edict was issued that no street should 
be less than seven feet in width, and few are more than 
that, as the Chinese are very economical of ground. A 
succession of business houses, five to twelve feet square, 
lined each side of the street, and each, desiring more 
room, has placed a sort of a platform in front of his 
shop in order to display his goods. Consequently, as I 
went by, I could help myself to wares on both sides of 
the street at the same time. With my right hand dried 
rats, or rats just butchered, along with quail, pheasants, 
chicken, fish of every kind, meats, etc., could be gathered 

121 



122 Around the World. 

and lodged in my chair, while my left was gathering 
bananas, oranges cakes, and apples, or at the next shop, 
separated only :: by a thin partition, silks and numerous 
varieties of fancy work, silver, lacquer, and ivory ware, 
available at almost give-away prices. These conditions 
prevail through the city, a multitude of purchasers from 
the vast empire being everywhere in evidence. 

He who records his conviction that the Chinese do 
not eat rats may rise and explain why so many rats are 
displayed on the market and sold for cash. Canton is 
the city of greatest wealth and direst poverty. The 
wealthiest will never know how much they are worth, 
while the poor are too poor to afford rat oftener than 
once a week. I saw the servant of an apparently well- 
to-do Cantonese throw some scraps into the filthiest canal 
the human intellect is capable of imagining, and in an 
instant a human form was on the spot with a pole trying 
to fish them from the filth, skum, and vermin of that 
putrid water. Many of the so-called streets are covered 
entirely by the protruding roofs, presenting a spectacle 
that has won for Canton the name of "Streetless City." 
When passing through the city, one is impressed that he 
is in an immense building cut up by. narrow halls or al- 
leys, where the sun is seldom seen. 

The stone wall about Canton is twenty-five miles long, 
about fifty feet wide, and from twenty to fifty feet in 
height. Crude cannon are stationed at intervals. I as- 
cended the wall, and found the cannon arranged so that 
they could be fired only on a line in front. The British 
and French took advantage of this, and marched up to 
the wall in lines, thereby avoiding the cannonading. Af- 
ter Canton was taken the official in charge reported to 
Peking that the "foreign devils did not fight fair, as they 
approached in thin lines, making it impossible to use the 



China Revisited. 1 23 

cannon on them." In building the walls, the Chinese had 
no better idea of war than to believe that an enemy 
would stand up where he could be shot most readily and 
easily. If the wealth utilized in building Chinese walls, 
which are now worse than useless, had been expended 
in establishing schools and hospitals, the dense midnight 
darkness of the present would soon be relegated to the 
backwoods of history. 

A Chinaman reg'ards aptness at deceiving as a neces- 
sary qualification to a successful life, and if deception 
was ever reduced to an art it is done in China. When a 
storm is approaching, the Chinaman, fearing that his junk 
may be destroyed, makes a paper junk, throws it over- 
board to float where danger lurks. He does this to fool 
the god of the storm into spending his wrath on the 
paper junk. The yellow man reasons that the god of 
the storm has decided to destroy a certain number of 
boats, and if he can fool him into destroying paper ones 
he will thereby save his real junk. 

I visited the world-renowned Examination Hall which 
has 11,616 cells, each five and a half feet long, three and 
two-thirds feet wide, and about eight feet high. Speak- 
ing of this institution, an ex-consul general of the United 
States to Hong-Kong said : "Next to Peking this is the 
greatest university in the world. More students meet 
within its courts and stone cells than in the halls and 
corridors of Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and all the big uni- 
versities of America and England put together." 

I never read of a people endowed with patience equal 
to the Chinese. To be as patient as the Chinese means 
more than to be simply as patient as Job. No American 
will continue his studies and contest in the triennial ex- 
aminations for sixty or seventy years in order to secure 
his bachelor degree, but the Chinese do this under circum- 



124 



Around the World. 



stances that would drive a less patient and persistent 
people crazy. The Cantonese takes a piece of ivory, 
works it until it is globular, the size of a base ball. He 
next drills four holes through it, then carves it with sharp 
instruments until it becomes twelve concentric globes. 
Each of these concentric globes is beautifully carved, and 
as they are turned like a wheel within a wheel, they ap- 
pear to have required such remarkable patience, skill, and 
ingenuity in their construction that I am forced to rank 
them and their carvers in a category to themselves. This 
work is useless except to show what can be done, yet 
each production finds ready sale at $16 (Mex.), forty- 
five days being required to complete each ball. Give the 
Yankee the same quality of genius, and he will whittle 
out something that will startle the world. 

I visited the execution ground, where more men have 
become victims to the executioner's sword than were 
slain in all the wars waged by Napoleon. The 
ground was crimson from the blood of a batch of 
victims of a few days previous. I went to the 
prison, where hundreds of criminals were chained. 
Had I waited I could have seen the long-nosed, brazen- 
faced executioner slash off a few heads with his ugly 
sword ; but I was nervous enough from exciting scenes 
galore, and did not care to run the risk of withstanding 
additional shocks. One of the instruments used in ex- 
ecuting a certain class of criminals is called the "Ling 
Chi," and slashes its victim into a thousand pieces. 

The next object of interest visited was the renowed 
water-clock, built in 1324 A. D. It is a splendid time- 
piece, so constructed that a drop of water falls every sec- 
ond and causes a slide to rise through an opening, indi- 
cating the exact time from one to twelve. The water must 
be transferred from the lower to the higher receptacle at 



China Revisited. 



125 



the expiration of the twelfth hour. It indicated twelve 
o'clock when it was one minute of twelve by my watch. 
Neither was much in error, for about this time the twelve 
o'clock gun thundered across the city from its position 
on the banks of the Pearl. 

Canton has its quota of temples. At the Confucian 
temple dwells the God of Medicine, where prescriptions 
are sold for the healing of the people's ills. After the 
data regarding the institution were thoroughly explained 
to me by an English-speaking native guide, I boldly ap- 
proached the keeper of the Medicine God, offered him a 
Mexican penny, which is the price charged for each pre- 
scription, received my prescription, chosen by the Con- 
fucian priest by lot, and handed it to my guide for trans- 
lation into English. After reading it, the guide said, "You 
headache got; must medicine takee in alee small jar," 
pointing to it at the same time. Since I never have the 
headache, I gave the jar a wide berth, preferring to let 
that juggler know that his trickery had not deceived me. 

The Chinese are fanatics in the use of firecrackers, 
their Fourth of July lasting through the year. Fire- 
crackers are a part of every program. Funerals, wed- 
dings, and functions of every description are incomplete 
without that particular kind of noise. When he goes 
to the temple to worship his god of brass or stone, a 
bunch of firecrackers accompanies him, and the last 
cracker is fired inside the temple doors. When a whole 
bunch is touched off at one time, a wire inclosure is 
used to prevent them from jumping all over the interior 
and setting fire to anything of a combustible nature. In 
reply to my question as to why firecrackers were used 
when consulting the God of Medicine, the guide replied, 
"So sick man get well." In the temple is the Enemy 
God, where every one worships that has an enemy. A 



126 Around the World. 

representation of the person is cut out of paper and hung 
on the wall by the man who desires to get rid of his 
enemy. The guide said it was done "so enemy not get 
well." 

At the Temple of Five Hundred Genii, built in 503 
A. D., gods of every description were on exhibition num- 
bering five hundred, as the name indicates, no two being 
alike. Canton has a Baby Tower, otherwise it would be 
out of fashion. 

If I had Carnegie's millions, I would cease building 
costly libraries, which react against the poor by raising 
the rent on adjacent property and at the same time 
provide the rich with books almost gratis. I would pour 
out that money for the rescue of China. The rich can 
buy their own books, and, besides, nearly every city that 
is financially able to comply with the Carnegie conditions 
in order to get a slice of his wealth, already has a public 
library with thousands of volumes, which the working 
poor never have time or strength to read. The cash being 
given away by Mr. Carnegie would, if wisely used, be- 
come the entering wedge for cleaving asunder the chains 
forged through centuries of darkness binding the Orient 
to the old sunken hulk of the past. With that money 
teachers could be posted all over the empire, whose labors 
would bring forth a hundred-fold greater results for the 
world's civilization than alcoves of costly-bound books, 
the majority of which will never be read. I do not dis- 
count books in the least, but I do not believe in giving 
stones when the demand is greater for the real bread 
of life. 

An item of unusual interest occupies the public mind 
on this side of the Pacific. The crew of the battleship 
Glory, the flagship of the British Asiatic squadron, boasted 
that it possessed the banner rowing-team of the world, 



China Revisited. 



127 



having won every race with the navies of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, the Indian and Pacific Oceans. When she 
came plowing into Hong-Kong Harbor, her officers spied 
the battleship Kentucky, the American flagship of the 
Asiatic squadron, commanded by "fighting Bob" Evans. 
Not having contested with American muscle, the world's 
honors were in the balance until the Stars and Stripes 
should be left trailing in the rear. Consequently a chal- 
lenge was immediately dispatched by a special detail to 
the Kentucky to determine whether our "Bob" thought it 
worth while to contest for the championship. It was duly 
accepted in a business-like way, without any boasting or 
apparent manifestation that success was even expected ; 
whereupon the British bragged that they not only ex- 
pected to win easily, but also had big money to stake on 
the race, and desired to know whether the Americans 
wished to cover it. 

After a short consultation, report was made that the 
Kentucky was ready to cover $25,000. This fairly as- 
tonished the Britons, who were unprepared for such an 
immense proposition. A smaller amount was agreed 
upon, and the time for the contest was set. The boats 
were to have four men each, and the race was to begin 
four miles out from Hong-Kong, and end at the battle- 
ship Glory in the Hong-Kong Harbor, where all the city 
could witness the American defeat and the British tri- 
umph. Newspaper reporters were present to chronicle 
the event. Everybody was present that could get leave 
of absence. The race began. The Americans used the 
long, slow stroke, twenty-two to the minute, while the 
British quartet employed the short, rapid stroke, thirty- 
two to the minute. American muscle and training had 
not been in vain, for before the harbor was reached the 
most splendid flag on earth was far in the lead, and the 



128 Around the World. 

faces of the British spectators began to lengthen like the 
shadow of the maple as the sun speeds down its course 
towards its western couch. Soon the Kentucky braves 
were sufficiently in advance to safely draw in their oars, 
rise in their places, doff their caps, and, waving them at 
arm's length, give three shouts for the land of the free 
and the home of the brave. This was done three times 
before the goal was reached, and the boys did not stop 
there, but rowed around under the bow of the British 
flagship, turned on the backward course, crossed under 
the stern, and again passed the goal ahead of the boasted 
British team, who had been victors on the Mediterranean, 
the Indian and Pacific Oceans heretofore, but now were 
vanquished completely by American athletes, such as are 
proud to offer their services to their country and secure 
the enviable opportunity of riding the ocean under the 
waving Stars and Stripes. 

Not one word was printed in the English newspapers 
of Hong-Kong regarding this all-absorbing event, while 
columns were devoted to insignificant games of golf and 
cricket, which were witnessed by a handful of people. 
The defeat was so overwhelming that the typos either re- 
fused to set it up or the editors were ashamed to chron- 
icle their loss of money and boasted position. I was in- 
formed that the Americans won more than $10,000 on 
the event, which I think is to be deplored. Betting is 
neither more nor less than gambling, and is stigmatized 
by every nation of importance in that no action can be 
brought in court to collect a wager. 

Invited by Chaplain Hall, I visited the mammoth bat- 
tle-ship of the British, and was simply amazed as I was 
shown her man-killing devices and equipment; such as 
guns thirty-four feet in length, mechanism for loading and 
firing, range-finding appliances, electric and hydraulic ap- 



China Revisited. I2Q 

paratus, twelve-inch steel armor, powerful searchlights, 
and rigging for protection against torpedoes. I was in- 
formed that this battle-ship holds the championship of 
the British navy for marksmanship, the target having 
been struck nineteen times in twenty-five shots with the 
twelve-inch, thirty-four feet guns at long range. Since 
our superiority in certain particulars is admitted, I assure 
you that there will be something "doing" if these monsters 
of the British and American navies ever lock horns, and it 
is hoped that they will never have occasion to test each 
other on the hisrh seas in real earnest. 



IX. 

HONG-KONG TO CEYLON. 

INTERESTING SEA VOYAGE — FXYING ElSH — HUGE SEABIRD 

CAPTURED SHARKS ON THE EQUATOR — SINGAPORE 

AND PENANG — CAPTIVATING DURIAN FRUIT ELEPHANT 

HUNT — IN THE HEART OE CEYEON. 

Many a chapter descriptive of Canton might be writ- 
ten without exhausting the almost limitless character- 
istics of that metropolis of the Chinese empire. However, 
I shall not weary you with additional Chinese data, but 
shall hasten to the Southward where winter's freezing 
blasts have never penetrated. Having descended the 
Pearl River from Canton to Hong-Kong, I booked for the 
1440-mile voyage to Singapore by the steamship Sado 
Maru built at Belfast and registered at Tokio at six 
thousand tons. With ideal weather and consequently a 
smooth sea, the ship steamed out into deep water with 
her bow toward the equator. Prior to my trip to Manila 
I had entertained many doubts as to the existence of fly- 
ing fish but those doubts vanished as flying fish unnum- 
bered arose from those tropical waters and hastened away 
in their aerial flight. I am told they often fly on board 
ships when pursued by larger fish, though I have seen none 
arise to such a height, nor have I seen any of them cover 
many rods at one flight, descent into the water being made 
as soon as their fins become dry through contact with the 
air, 

130 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 131 

The shark is the scavenger of the sea. He fears 
neither man nor ship, although the native of Malaysia 
often proves the better of the two in a fight to the 
finish. Many a native makes a business of visiting the 
ships as they arrive and diving after pieces of shining 
money cast into the sea by passengers. If attacked by 
a shark, the diver plunges under his assailant and drives a 
knife into a vital spot. The shark must turn to one side 
before he can snap his victim, thereby giving the diver a 
chance. The bravery manifested by these divers indicates 
that not all the world's heroism is displayed upon historic 
battle-fields. The appearance of a huge, angry shark 
alongside the ship makes the cold chills creep over one 
who is not used to seeing such sights. 

As the ship is almost ready to dip her prow under 
the equator in rounding the peninsula of Malaysia, or 
the Straits Settlements, as they are called officially, it is 
not unusual to hear the expression, "I did not imagine it 
would be so hot here in the winter time." People forget 
that the temperature is the same the year around on the 
equator, presenting one eternal summer. This land of 
changeless climate and vegetation reminds one of the 
painful sameness referred to by Tennyson in his allusion 
to the land of the lotus-eaters : 

" We came unto a land that seemed always afternoon, 
A land where all things always seemed the same." 

In presenting the direct opposition to such a lazy 
clime and sleepy people, the poet strikes fire as he dis- 
plays the points of excellence observed in the energetic 
and unyielding Ulysses, who resolved — 

" To follow knowledge like a sinking star 
Beyond the utmost bounds of human thought, 
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield," 



132 Around the World. 

Singapore is a city of two hundred and twenty-seven 
thousand people, one hundred and fifty thousand of whom 
are Chinese, the remaining seventy-seven thousand being 
Indians, Cingalese, English, Bornese, Japanese, Javanese, 
and Siamese. The Federated States of Malaysia, subjects 
of Great Britain, produce an annual revenue of $7,000,000. 
One man pays the government $287,000 per year for the 
privilege of selling opium. It is a pity, as well as a shame, 
that a great nation will disgrace her name by fostering 
the opium trade, one of the curses of the Orient. 

Every visitor to Singapore visits the botanical gardens, 
located two miles from the city. Here vegetation holds 
high carnival, presenting nearly every variety of botanical 
life known to the tropics. My home for nearly three days 
was at the college located in the center of the city. Look- 
ing in any direction, a vast forest greeted the eye as if 
no city of nearly a quarter of a million were nearer than 
a thousand miles. Anywhere and everywhere breadfruit, 
cocoanut, banana, and stately palm trees held their heads 
aloft, each vying with the other for precedence in height 
and beauty. Flowering plants of every conceivable color 
and combination of colors fill the air with fragrance as 
they display themselves in one perpetual fairy-like bower. 
Add to this luxuriant display the aromatic-laden winds 
that hie hither from the spice-fields of Java, and you have 
a diminutive conception of this paradise of perfumery. 

The richness of the land may be guessed when I 
assert that some of the jungle near Singapore is so dense 
that nearly every square inch of ground is covered with a 
conglomerate mass of trees and vines, a veritable tangle. 
That a python or boa-constrictor succeds in penetrating 
that jungle is a mystery, not considering the monkeys 
and tigers that infest it. Within fifteen miles of the city 
tigers are said to be plentiful, and I am told that those 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 133 

wild animals have been killed in that part of the jungle 
which I visited. Sometimes they swim across the narrow 
strait to the island on which Singapore is located. Only 
a few days ago a royal Bengal tiger was killed at the 
Raffels Hotel in Singapore and in the very room where I 
dined on Thursday. The hotel is situated on the bund 
facing the sea. The tiger was prowling about the streets 
at night, and, drawn probably by the scent of beef as well 
as by the desire to stop at the European hostelry, which 
is better than any native inn, marched through the front 
court into the dining-room, which is always open. In 
the tropics, the houses consist of a roof and four upright 
corner supports with the sides all open to the elements. 
The roof protrudes to prevent the entrance of rain and the 
sun's scorching rays. Slats for the sides are usually pro- 
vided among the well-to-do classes. On entering the hotel 
the tiger neither registered nor consulted the manage- 
ment about being assigned, a room, but, according to 
tiger custom, deliberately helped himself to everything in 
sight, and then cautiously hid himself behind a billiard- 
table. The remainder of the night was evidently spent 
without incident ; but on being discovered the following- 
morning, he was granted full possession of the dining- 
room. His title to possession was undisputed until an 
expert marksman and tiger-hunter was secured, whose 
second shot went crashing through the skull between the 
feline's snapping eyes. When all possibility of danger 
was past, the gathered crowd applied the tape-line and 
learned that his excellency measured eight feet and six 
inches from tip to tip. 

My friend, Df. B. F. West, a college professor in 
Singapore, visited Borneo recently, and tells Bornese tales 
that almost surpass belief. They are true, I assure you, 
for no one who knows him can doubt his veracity in the 



134 Around the World. 

least items. Some things which I know to be true I re- 
frain from presenting, on the ground that they might pro- 
voke the reader to question their credibility. One item 
incident to life as found in neighboring Borneo is, that 
no young man is eligible to marry, nor will any young lady 
consider a proposal from a youth who has not taken at 
least one scalp. The lady must first visit the home 
of the young man and see the scalp hanging over his 
door, and have good evidence to believe that it was taken 
by him, and not faked for the occasion before her promise 
is given. It may be news to some to learn that those 
head-hunting Dyaks of Borneo are becoming Christians, 
renouncing their barbarism and becoming firm supporters 
of higher civilization. Where heathenism prevails, Can- 
nibalism is practiced, and the one who would aspire to be 
head man or mayor of a village must previously have 
taken at least one hundred scalps. 

Snake lore and stories of wild adventure are epidemic, 
not only in Borneo, but also here in Singapore. Scarcely 
a trip can be made anywhere hereabouts without having 
the nerves severely tried. While three of us were visiting 
the zoological and botanical gardens a serpent fell from a 
tree and struck a man on the shoulder. All escaped with- 
out any loss of life, each person, however, being willing 
to surrender the field unconditionally. 

The sultan of Johore lives fourteen miles north of 
Singapore and is credited with almost incredible deeds of 
daring. No one is permitted to hunt tigers on his reser- 
vations without his permission. It is said in praise of him 
that he invariably waits until the tiger springs at him, 
and then shoots it "on the wing." Having slain many 
in this way he is regarded as the champion dead-shot of 
the Far East, if not of the entire world. The reckless 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. iic 

daring exhibited by him has no parallel even among 
Youth's Companion stories. 

A fruit flourishes here called the durian, or technically 
the durio zebithinus, whose odor is as repulsive as its 
flavor is appetizing. Were this country deprived of its 
fragrant flora, the durian fruit would cause the people to 
long for the opportunity to live near a bone yard or a 
soap factory, where the stench might be more easily en- 
dured. That such a malodorous fruit should be so pleas- 
ant to the taste is a standing enigma. 

After three days at Singapore, we passed through the 
Straits of Malacca, and anchored at Penang, three hun- 
dred and ninety-five miles to the Northward. In this city 
— population nearly two hundred thousand — I found only 
ten Americans, chiefly teachers and missionaries. Here 
two days were profitably spent. Immediately upon land- 
ing, I secured an Asiatic who knew only about two words 
of English, which were "yes" and "no." Of the many 
who gabbled at me in a foreign tongue, only one could 
say a word that was any relation to English. Desiring 
to mail a letter to the one who rescued me from the 
possibility of bachelordom, I questioned the entire line 
to learn whether any one could take me to the post-office. 
The one I chose kept saying "Yes, yes," to my question; 
therefore I leaped into his jinriksha, and away he sped 
through the city. We went far out until the city was left 
in the rear. I was confident that the post-office was not 
our goal, but let him go wherever it pleased him, as I 
wanted to see the country. After the street had changed 
into a road, and the road had changed into a path, and 
the path was about to be transformed into a squirrel- 
track and run up a tree, I halted my man. The towering 
trees formed a jungle above my head, and on every side 



136 Around the World. 

excellent hiding-places for wild beasts greted the eye as I 
surveyed the scene, expecting almost any moment to 
see a screaming varmint plunge out frooi almost any- 
where. I met a Malay with a brown bear fastened with 
a chain. He had captured it when it was a cub, and 
managed to inform me that he now wanted twenty dollars 
in silver for it, which is less than eight dollars gold. 
Learning that my jinriksha man could not manage Eng- 
lish, I pointed down the backward track, whereupon we 
returned to the city. Noticing a large sign bearing the 
inscription, "American goods for sale here," I entered and 
found an American lady in charge of the store, who in- 
formed me that I was one mile from the post-office, 
and that I had been out in the country where some of the 
tales of wildest adventure have their setting. Pythons, 
boa-constrictors, and tigers there keep each other com- 
pany, but are most numerous three miles away to the east- 
ward, I was told. After a pleasant visit at this social 
place, I visited the Anglo-Chinese school. I mailed that 
letter, however, on finding the post-office less than half 
a block from the landing place. My jinriksha man had- 
doubtless taken me to be an adventurer desiring to get 
acquainted with the wilds of jungle life, and therefore 
made a bee-line for the hunter's paradise. 

Here and at Singapore shipping is abundant. Among 
the exports are pepper, india-rubber, sugar, rice, sago, 
tapioca, spices, dyestuff, coffee, tea, tobacco, and tin. 

In every city from Yokohama to Penang, the Chinese 
are the proprietors, with multiplied millions of capital, 
and live in palatial residences. The Hong-Kong and 
Shanghai Bank with branches in nearly every Oriental 
city of the Far East, is owned and operated principally 
by the Chinese, and it is reputed to be second in rank to 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 137 

the Bank of England among the world's financial insti- 
tutions. 

After seeing so much of the Chinese at their best, as 
well as the Chinese at their worst, I recognize the ground 
upon which my Shanghai informant based his opinion, 
which I questioned, when he asserted that the best of the 
Chinese were at par with the best of any other nation, 
and that the lowest of the Chinese are no lower than the 
lowest of the low to be found elsewhere among the world's 
multitudes. While I do not thus rank the Chinese, I am 
willing to record my conviction that no more commend- 
able or praiseworthy undertaking was ever launched than 
when the missionary societies undertook the evangelizing 
and Christianizing of China, Japan, and Borneo. I had 
studiously read volume after volume on missions ; but 
when my eyes beheld the tremendous work accomplished, 
I was actually ashamed of myself that I had ever enter- 
tained a doubt as to the utility and necessity of the work 
and the unspeakable transformations so signally wrought 
by the Power Divine and I am forced to confess in the 
words of the queen of Sheba on visiting Jerusalem, "The 
one-half was not told me." I have stocked myself with 
facts observed upon the battlefields of missions, armed 
with which I am ready to cross the Rubicon on the mis- 
sionary proposition without fearing either man or devil. 
"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature," is an unalterable dictum, and I am glad that the 
Churches and the nations of earth are obedient to that 
command. 

I was shown a tract of land in the heart of Singapore 
worth $25,000, which the government offered to present 
to the Mission Board if the latter would agree to erect a 
building thereon to be used in Christian work. Recog- 



1^8 Around the World. 

nizing the importance of the Christian work now being 
done in Singapore, the government pays $3,000 per year 
to assist in maintaining that work, as the help that comes 
from America is not sufficient. I, at first, thought it 
strange that a government subject to Great Britain should 
be paying cash to an American board, but it is all plain 
when I remember that religion is not circumscribed or 
measured by national boundary lines. Right is right the 
world r.ound ; right is always right, and wrong is always 
wrong; right is never wrong, and wrong is never right, 
regardless of whether it is hot or cold, clear or cloudy, 
either on this or on that side of the globe. 

My next venture will be upon the Indian Ocean to 
Ceylon, a distance of nearly one thousand three hundred 
miles. As the smoke rolls from yonder huge black funnel, 
I am reminded that preparation is being made for another 
battle with the waves. Coal has been stored till the bun- 
kers are full. The iron giants in the vessel's hold have 
been carefully groomed. Provisions have been stacked 
to the ceilings of the storerooms, and all is ready for the 
sea. 

" The sea, the sea, the gray old sea, 

What a merry and brave old heart has he ! 

A fellow of infinite jest and whim, 

And nothing can come amiss to him. 

If the winds are hushed he cares not ; he 
Can sleep till they wake — whensoever that be — ■ 
With his head on the grand piled clouds of dawn, 
And his feet where the evening veils are drawn." 

After a voyage of thirty hours from Malaysia the ship 
rounded the northern point of Sumatra, and entered the 
Indian Ocean. A few lonely islands to our right wan- 
dered eastward as we sped westward. The second night 
out a ship was sighted south of us. The hull and lower 



Hong-ICong to Ceylon. 130 

half of her mast were invisible, her strong lights perched 
upon her highest masts alone being visible, and they ap- 
peared just above the water level. They frequently dis- 
appeared from view entirely as large waves arose between 
us and them. He who does not believe that this earth is 
globular will suffer a change of faith if he keeps his eyes 
open on a sea voyage. 

One night about ten o'clock, as I was sitting alone upon 
the promenade deck, hearing only the moaning waters 
and the steady pulse-beat of the machinery, my mind was 
twelve thousand miles ahead of the ship on a visit among 
friends and loved ones, when suddenly there dropped 
upon the deck before my eyes a huge sea-bird of the tire- 
less wing. Dazed by electric lights, it plunged against 
the steel cabin, making assault after assault as if endeav- 
oring to smash what the powerful waves had not been able 
to overcome. Regardless of its size, I at once put into 
practice my football tactics and made a flying tackle, 
planting my right hand around its serpentine neck and the 
left hand upon its back, which pinned it to the floor. In 
an instant its sharp bill was testing the quality of my 
index finger while its extensive wings were surpassing all 
the electric fans aboard the ship in circulating the other- 
wise quiet air. Soon help came, and the visitor was made 
a prisoner and unable to move while the crowd inspected. 
No one had seen such a zoological specimen before ; not 
even the captain and crew, nor the officers of another 
vessel who were aboard, deadheading their way back to 
London from Yokohama, having sold their ship to the 
Japanese. It was probably four feet across the wings, 
was white-breasted, and had webbed feet. As hero of 
the occasion it was my bird, and when I decided to give 
it its liberty, and not kill it, every one was agreed. Sea- 



140 



Around the World. 



men as a rule are superstitious. The poet Coleridge, in 
his masterpiece, "The Ancient Mariner," relates the 
story of the woe visited upon a ship and its passengers 
because a visiting albatross was shot with a crossbow. 
I quote the following selections : 

" At length did cross an albatross ; 
Through the fog it came ; 
As if it had a been Christian soul, 
We hailed it in God's name. 

And a good south wind sprung up behind ; 

The albatross did follow, 
And every day, for food or play, 

Came to the mariners' hollo ! 

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, 

It perched for vespers nine ; 
While all the night, through fog smoke white, 

Glimmered the white moonshine. 

' God save thee, ancient mariner ! 

From the fiends that plague thee thus ! 
Why look'st thou so ?' — ' With my cross-bow 

I shot the albatross.' 

The sun now rose upon the right ; 

Out of the sea came he, 
Still hid in mist, and on the left 

Went down into the sea. 

And the good south wind still blew behind. 

But no sweet bird did follow, 
Nor any day for food or play 

Came to the mariners' hollo ! 

And I had done a hellish thing. 

And it would work 'em woe; 
For all averred, I had killed the bird 

That made the breeze to blow. 
'Ah, wretch !' said they, ' the bird to slay 

That made the breeze to blow !' 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 141 

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, 

The furrow followed free ; 
We were the first that ever burst 

Into that silent sea. 

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down. 

'T was sad as sad could be ; 
And we did speak only to break 

The silence of the sea. 

All in a hot and copper sky, 

The bloody sun at noon, 
Right up above the mast did stand, 

No bigger than the moon. 

Water, water, everywhere, 

And all the boards did shrink ; 
Water, water, everywhere, 

Nor any drop to drink. 

The very deep did rot; O Christ! 

That ever thus should be ! 
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs 

Upon the slimy sea." 

Thus it is seen that hypersensitive minds have no 
business upon the sea. 

Scarcely a day passes without its events of interest. 
About the middle of the voyage I was surprised to see 
a school of whales enjoying themselves at their play as 
if perfectly happy and contented so far from humanity's 
reach. Nearly all animals on land have been harnessed 
to do the work and bidding of man, but not so the huge 
animals of the sea. The nations continue to wait for 
some genius to come forth to tame a pair of whales, har- 
ness them with powerful tugs, hitch them to an ocean 
liner, and, like a victorious Ben Hur, drive them at full 
speed with cracking whip. Is it not in the realm of the 



142 



Around the World. 



possible that the poet will, some day, be forced to revise 
the following lines in order to be up-to-date ? 

" I 've crossed the line full fifteen times ; 
And down in the southern sea 
I 've seen the whales, like bounding lambs, 
Leap up — the strong, the free, — 

Leap up, the creatures that God hath made 

To people the isless main ; 
They have no bridle in their jaws, 

And on their necks no rein." 

When one has been buffeted by the waves for a week, 
the sight of land is of even greater interest than the 
appearance of whales, sharks, flying-fish, and everything 
else of interest in the deep. 

Ceylon was in sight a half-day before we reached Co- 
lombo, as we coasted around on the south, then up the 
west side to the city. Here we anchored alongside battle- 
ships and large ocean craft, this harbor being a junction 
point between Europe and Asia and Australia for all the 
large British, French, German, and Japanese ships. 

The island of Ceylon lies between five degress and 
nine degrees north of the equator, its greatest length 
being 267 miles, and its breadth 140 miles, having an 
area of 24,700 square miles. Its highest point is 8,000 feet 
above the sea-level. Ceylonese history may be traced back 
to 543 B. C, prior to which tradition is alone available. 
Recorded history shows one hundred and sixty kings 
occupied the throne prior to the coming of the Portuguese 
in 1505. In 1552 a shipload of Europeans anchored near 
Colombo, and a report was quickly carried to the king 
on the throne at Kandy, the capital, that "ships had ar- 
rived containing a race of men surpassingly white and 
beautiful, wearing boots and hats of iron, eating a white 
stone and drinking blood, and having guns which could 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 143 

break a castle of marble." Such a report was enough to 
scare even a weaker race of people. 

The Portuguese were victors until 1658, when the 
Dutch came into complete control. They were ousted in 
1796 by the British, who swept the island, drove the reign- 
ing sovereign from his throne at Kandy, sent him as pris- 
oner of war to Madras, where he died, and George III 
was proclaimed sovereign of the island on March 2, 181 5. 
The islanders are now very peaceable and are under a 
governor appointed by the crown of England, who re- 
ceives a salary of 80,000 rupees, almost $27,000 gold, 
having residences provided at Colombo, Kandy, and Nu- 
wara Eliya. A commission, acting with the governor, 
makes the laws and exercises general control. A civil serv- 
ice of seventy appointments is maintained, admission be- 
ing obtained in England only, with salaries ranging from 
$1,000 to $8,000 gold each per annum. The population of 
Ceylon is three and a half million, Colombo being listed 
at one hundred twenty thousand. Only one-third of the 
island is under cultivation — 700,000 acres in rice; 150,000 
under other small grains ; 450,000 under cocoanuts ; other 
palms 130,000; 100,000 under coffee; 35,000 under cin- 
chona ; 35,000 under cinnamon ; more than a million acres 
are under fruit, vegetable, and garden produce. 

If Ceylon is noted for one thing more than for another, 
it is for its elephants, which are exported to India, Europe, 
and America. I was disappointed on my arrival to learn 
that there were no elephants in Colombo. Having read 
Ceylonese elephant stories since my early boyhood, I had 
learned to regard Ceylon as the spot of all the earth 
that would be fascinating to me, and I can now assert 
that I shall look back to no other land with greater delight. 
Here I- have had a taste of the wild, even romantic. Being 
assured that no elephants were to be found without mak- 



144 



Around the World. 



ing a trip to the interior, I planned a campaign, not simply 
to see an elephant — because I had seen nearly all that had 
been brought to America during the past fifteen years — 
but I had my head set upon seeing them in their native 
haunts. Therefore I set out upon a trip of one hundred 
and fifty miles. Before I reached Kandy — a city of 
twenty-two thousand people, mostly Cingalese, situated 
at an elevation of about one thousand seven hundred feet 
above sea-level in the mountains — I saw one elephant as 
he was being ridden to market ; but that was too tame to 
suit my longing for the sight of the giants who go crash- 
ing through jungle and forest, masters of the wild wood- 
land. 

At Kandy I was informed that the objects of my 
search were far beyond the city. Having secured two 
natives, who knew the country and could talk some Eng- 
lish, I engaged them to accompany me. They said they 
might be able to show me fifty elephants, and there might 
be only a few in that part of the frontier into which they 
proposed to lead me. Out we went. Everywhere palm- 
trees of many kinds lifted their lofty heads. Tropical 
fruits and spices of various kinds filled the air with aro- 
matic fragrance. Cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg, gum, 
iron, the deadly upas, candle, and camphor trees clustered 
with date, durian, cocoanut, breadfruit, jackfruit, and 
banana trees. Vines, like great serpents, crawled along 
the ground, and then stretched from tree to tree as if 
desiring to drag them to the earth. Flowers of every 
hue, color and perfume beautified the pathway, thereby 
drowning the thoughts of meeting the deadly cobra or 
boa-constrictor as we pursued our course. In such a 
flower-bed one is entranced, and wishes that such sur- 
roundings might endure forever. 

But it was not to last, I, becoming slightly suspicious, 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 14c 

inquired, "Are there any poisonous snakes through here?" 
In a twinkling of an eye came the reply, "Yes, big cobra a 
plenty." This sudden information reduced my temper- 
ature as the cool chills crept over me, anticipatory to a 
surprise. This was not a condition jonducive to the re- 
calling of poetry, unless it should be the following from 
a masterpiece : 

" One impulse from the vernal wood 

May teach you more of man, 
Of moral evil and of good, 

Than all the sages can." 

The impulse I had from that vernal wood was re- 
actionary. Surrounded by all the luxuriance of tropical 
beauty, one does not forget self when the least inkling of 
danger threatens. The rustling of the leaves makes one 
halt by the involuntary process long before the thinker 
has time to act. A disturbance was caused by what I 
considered to be a squirrel. Finding a piece of wood 
resembling a bench, I sat upon it to rest. I had not been 
there long before something happened not on the program. 

Right in front of me a deadly cobra took his position. 
With uplifted head, hissing mouth, and flashing eyes, 
he swayed back and forth as if angry, like a giant who 
would whip everything in sight. With unspeakable swift- 
ness I drew my feet up to keep them from becoming the 
victims of a possible thrust from his swelling and sweep- 
ing head. At every raising of his unsightly head his 
neck grew larger until it was as large as a pie plate and 
as flat as a pancake "like your mother used to make." 
Perched where I was, I had ample time to study him, and 
never did I think of getting down to argue the question 
with him on the ground of previous possession. He had 
the ground and I was perfectly willing to give him all the 
ground he needed as I sat on my perch with the master of 
10 



146 Around the World. 

ceremonies before me and America ten thousand miles 
away. You may laugh, but you would not have laughed 
if you had been here; neither would you have said your 
prayers, for under such circumstances you would have been 
in a condition similar to that of the woman with whom 
a little girl once staid all night. On retiring, the little tot 
undertook to say its prayer, and being accustomed to 
being prompted by its mamma, a halt was made when 
memory failed. As the lady could not help it out of its 
difficulty, it almost instinctively closed by saying, "Please, 
Dod, fordive me 'cause I 's fordot, and this lady what I 's 
staying with do n't know any prayers." 

My readers will be more surprised than ever when 
I assert that the man who was talking to me when the 
cobra appeared, captured him by getting his head into a 
basket. His head once in the basket, the cobra crawled in 
of his own accord. Knowing how to do things is worth 
all the theory in* the world. When I saw this Cingalese 
last, he asked twenty dollars for the cobra, and it is quite 
likely that he will get that sum, as the purchasing agents 
of zoological gardens and shows are always scouring 
Ceylon for specimens, and may be glad to secure such a 
valuable curiosity. I think I would recognize the fellow 
if I should meet him on the Midway at the World's Fair 
in 1904. I hope, however, that I will never meet him 
again, as he is no friend of mine. 

I was with this man and his prize no farther, but 
went over to the river in company with an Englishman 
who has been surveying in Ceylon for several years. We 
had not gone far when he said, "See there ! elephants in 
the river !" I was all eyes, for I had endured much for the 
purpose of seeing such a spectacle, and was despairing 
lest my efforts should be doomed to final failure. But 
now volumes flashed anew through the corridors of mem- 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 147 

ory as my eyes feasted on the sight of a lifetime. Not 
three hundred yards away were the giants, standing in 
three feet of water, playing in their daily bath. To state 
that they were enjoying it is to put it mildly. In ques- 
tioning my surveyor friend as to whether they were dan- 
gerous, he replied : "They will not molest a person unless 
you chance to meet a rogue elephant. A rogue elephant 
is one that is mad." Among other items of elephant lore, 
I was told that at the last coral, or "krall," eighty-six 
elephants were secured, and were sold at from 200 to 
5,000 rupees, according to size and training. The most 
popular place for the hunters desiring to shoot such big 
game is in Hambantota District of the Southern province. 

Elk-hunting is regarded as quite tempting in the 
vicinity of Nuwara, while wild buffalo, bear, and leopards 
are found farther north. Crocodiles are numerous, along 
with no less than thirty species of serpents. My friend 
said, "Snakes are plentiful, but we do not hear of Euro- 
peans being killed by them very often." Not having the 
feline possession of nine lives I decided that my security 
was assured if I could only avoid being killed once. 

Elephants are used here for all kinds of heavy work. 
Trees are felled, and the lower end is securely fastened 
to the giants back. In this way he drags his burden 
wherever desired by the owner or operator of the big 
trust. If the tree is not too large, it is managed by his 
powerful trunk without resorting to chains. The giant 
is trained to wrap his trunk about a huge rock at the 
quarry and act as a ponderous dray. If the rock is too 
large for his serpentine trunk, the load is encased by 
means of a harness of chain so arranged that it can be 
easily grasped and carried. 

If I had been asked about a week ago in what city of 
the Orient I would prefer to make my home if left to 



148 Around the World. 

a choice, I would have selected Yokohama, Shanghai, or 
Manila ; but now my choice would fall to Kandy, seventy- 
six miles inland from Colombo. Nuwara is much higher 
than Kandy, frosts being frequent visitors there, while 
Kandy is much cooler than Colombo. With a home 
anywhere along the lake at Kandy, surrounded with 
scenery that entrances, one could bid defiance to cares 
as he enjoyed life in that beautiful vale nearly two thou- 
sand feet above sea-level. With a population of twenty- 
two thousand, it nestles among the foothills of a veri- 
table Eden. In fact the Garden of Eden has been located 
there by some visionary enthusiast. The scenery from 
Colombo to Kandy is pronounced the finest in the world. 
Celebrated botanists from every quarter of the globe 
come to this bower of beauty to study their favorite de- 
partment of science. The Paradenia botanical gardens 
contain the finest specimens of tropical plants and trees 
known to exist. Those approaching them the nearest are 
in Java. 

The Dalada temple was built for the express purpose 
of holding Buddha's tooth, and is better known as the 
Temple of the Tooth. On visiting this ancient temple 
I was permitted to step behind the veil and grasp the 
handles by which the heavy iron doors are swung open 
leading to the tooth. The doors were locked, however. 
Upon the wall are frescoes illustrating the punishment 
to be visited upon those committing the various kinds of 
sins according to the teachings of Buddha. Speaking of 
this temple and its association, the historian writes : "Pro- 
ceeding southward for a short distance down the Sacred 
Road, the track along which the pilgrims come, and have 
come for two thousand years, to offer their devotions to 
the most venerated symbols of their religion, the visitor 
reaches the inclosure which surrounds the celebrated Bo- 



Hong-Kong to Ceylon. 149 

tree. This tree {Ficus religioso) is the oldest historical 
tree in the world. It was planted two hundred and forty- 
five years before Christ, and is therefore now two thou- 
sand one hundred and thirty years old." 

Kandy contains many specimens excavated from the 
ruins of the buried cities of Ceylon. Beyond Kandy there 
are ruins of cities that rose, flourished, and fell uncounted 
years before written Ceylonese history began. Hundreds 
of years before Christ, China had diplomatic relations 
with the Cingalese. The ancient cities of Anurhapura, 
Polonaruwa, Dambula, Kalavewa, Mihintale, and Sigiri 
have been victims of awful judgments. Destruction has 
been completed and ages have swept by until towering 
temples, once piercing the azure sky at an altitude of 
four hundred feet above the foundations, are covered with 
the dust and the accumulation sent by an avenging de- 
stroyer. 

Is it not possible that those people and cities have had 
a revelation which they refused to obey, and have suffered 
as did the cities of the plains that disobeyed the warnings 
of their God? Speaking of the ruins of the buried cities 
of Ceylon, one author has said that New York and Paris 
are pigmies in comparison with these centers of ancient 
civilization. 



X. 

COLOMBO TO CALCUTTA. 

TWO SALOON PASSENGERS — TUTICORIN TO MAD JURA, THE 

ATHENS OF ASIA — CHASED BY AN ELEPHANT HINDU 

SUPERSTITIONS — INDIAN RELIGIONS — CALCUTTA. 

Ceylon the beautiful, Ceylon, the charming isle of the 
Indian Ocean, lingers in the memory as ever-present 
company. Nature has been partial to its mountain 
scenery, and prodigal in lavishing upon it a wealth of 
beauty. Besides embracing the typical features of both 
the Rockies and Sierras, an additional strain of ex- 
quisite beauty is added by giving the entire jewel a setting 
of tropical luxuriance. He who stops at Colombo sees 
nothing but the museum in the Cinnamon Gardens, 
Kelani Temple, and a display of diamonds and other 
precious stones in the bazaars, while he who pushes into 
the interior is a thousand-fold repaid for his every effort. 

At no point have I been as impatient with beggars of 
baksheesh as in Ceylon and Southern India. If the na- 
tives can speak any other language besides their own, 
it is usually English. Consequently when they see a 
person who wears European or American dress, they con- 
sider him to be a never-failing victim of their pleading. 
They have almost enough patience to outdo Job at his best. 
They follow one along the street from block to block, 
bowing and making themselves generally obnoxious. As 
long as I answered them in English, my pathway was 

150 



Colombo to Calcutta. 



151 



strewn with thorns ; but it was not to last. After escaping 
from the last one to whom I had betrayed myself by the 
use of English, I undertook to answer all others in Ger- 
man, which they did not understand. Before that kind 
of a torrent of language my pests went down like corn- 
stalks before a young cyclone. If, however, a braver one 
withstood the German, I hurled at him philippics from 
Latin masterpieces ; and if these failed, I poured forth a 
blast from some Greek classic that I happened to remem- 
ber. Greek as a last resort was a perfect antidote. 
I remember having held a crowd at bay in Kandy by 
resorting to such tactics. The best part of it all was 
to know that I had evaded their tactics, and could enjoy 
myself as I listened to their conversation as they under- 
took to decipher my nationality. 

I entered India at Tuticorin, the southernmost port 
of the empire, the voyage from Colombo having been 
made by the steamship Africa of the British India Steam 
Navigation Company. This line maintains a daily mail 
service (Sundays excepted) from Colombo to Tuticorin, 
leaving Colombo at four o'clock P. M. and arriving in 
Tuticorin at eight o'clock the following morning. The 
trip across was unique, there being two saloon passengers, 
a lady of twenty summers and myself. She was on her 
way to Rangoon, and was compelled to go via Madras 
as there is no service between Colombo and Rangoon. 
I must give that lady credit for being the most plucky 
lady sailor I ever saw aboard a ship, and at the same time 
the most miserable on account of seasickness. After a 
sojourn of two or three minutes at the table her general 
direction would be on a beeline for the banister, where 
she would gaze for divers reasons towards the leaping 
fish. Conquered, but not overcome completely, back to 
the table she would hasten, and prepare for another trib- 



152 Around the World. 

ute to the salty sea. The captain gave her brandy only 
to make more vexing her trying condition. If Eli Perkins 
had been in my place, he would have sympathized with 
her by repeating the following statement made by him on 
a similar occasion : "I never till now knew there was so 
much in woman." 

The water being shallow, a ship can not safely ap- 
proach near the wharf at Tuticorin ; consequently we 
anchored seven miles away, where a light steam-launch 
met us and conveyed us over a very choppy sea to the 
jetty. The mail-train of the South Indian Railway was 
waiting our arrival. At the customs office I paid the 
duty of five per cent on my kodak, and was cleared for 
the trip northward. As no dining-car is carried on this 
road, and there being no time for breakfast at the rail- 
road dining-room, those who desire breakfast are served 
as the train proceeds. Imagine the situation in that 
railroad carriage when I inform you that my breakfast 
was brought and scattered all over the car in plates, each 
having a cover. The plates had been heated and every- 
thing was served hot. An Indian was sent along to serve 
the courses in order. Breakfast over, he left the train 
when the first stop was made, taking the breakfast equip- 
ment with him to return to Tuticorin on the first train. 
The entire expense to me was one rupee and four annas 
(forty cents gold). 

It is needless to state at each departure the entire 
process of exchanging the money of the country which 
I am leaving for that of the country for which I am 
bound. Such exchange is necessary as the money of one 
government is not current in another with few excep- 
tions, gold, however being good and acceptable every- 
where. The man that makes the fact known that he 
has gold has a passport almost anywhere. As I came very 



Colombo to Calcutta. 



153 



near experiencing discomfiture on account of having sil- 
ver and paper money not current where I was, I profited 
by my experience, and now demand gold sovereigns when- 
ever I make a requisition on London with my letter of 
credit. Such money being in demand, I can get sufficient 
premium on it to pay the expense incurred when I pur- 
chased the letter of credit in Denver; and, besides, the 
weight of fifteen or twenty sovereigns in your belt is not 
noticed, not considering their convenience when one is 
out on the veldt and must either buy, beg, or bleach from 
starvation. 

For years I had been told that the Hooghly River, 
one of the mouths of the Ganges, on which Calcutta is 
situated, is the most dangerous water to navigate with 
which the pilot is forced to contend. Calcutta is about one 
hundred miles from the sea. Counter currents caused 
by the tides, the river current, and intersecting currents 
from what seamen call the "bear," have destroyed many 
ships attempting to reach this "City of Palaces." Not- 
withstanding these dangers, ships come and go daily, 
frequently experiencing hair-breadth escapes. Being- 
warned again and again since I reached Asia, I decided 
to avoid it by crossing to Tuticorin and risking the rail 
journey of more than one thousand four hundred miles 
to Calcutta, and at the same time visit Southern India. 
On reaching Calcutta I was indeed surprised to be in- 
formed that, by doing this, I had jumped from the frying 
pan into the fire, as the South Indian Railroad is the most 
dangerous piece of road imaginable, a disastrous wreck 
having occurred only a few days ago on account of a 
washout. It has several bridges more than a mile in 
length and in bad condition. I noticed that there were 
very few passengers for such a long train, at least twelve 
cars, and now learn that it is preferable to risk the dangers 



*54 



Around the World. 



of the mad Hooghly than to committ one's self to that 
road at present. The passengers from Colombo to North 
India were doubtless acquainted with conditions, and 
had gone by steamer. Yesterday the steamer Olympia 
arrived in Calcutta with a distressed lot of passengers, 
who were detained at the mouth of the Hooghly an entire 
day, and thought they would never reach land again, 
while I, coming by the boycotted railroad, had arrived 
safely without the thought of danger, and I had also 
visited Madura, the "Athens of Asia," besides seeing 
Madras and getting a taste of Tanjore and Trichinopoly, 
the railroad ticket permitting stop-over at every point 
of interest. 

Madura is indescribably interesting. From time im- 
memorial it has been the political and religious capital 
of Southern India. Its temple sacred to Siva is a mag- 
nificent structure, with a profusion of ornamentation and 
decoration not found in Japan or China. The carving 
and statuary of the gallery is said to have cost five 
million dollars gold, but the cost of the entire structure 
hovers somewhere toward the billion-dollar mark. It is 
730 by 850 feet in size, with thirteen towers covered with 
statuary to the highest pinnacle, the tallest tower rising 
one hundred and fifty feet, and serves as a gateway. One 
tower is covered with gold, and has the least elevation 
of all. As I entered this temple, I observed five elephants 
busily engaged at their dinner. When one of the keepers 
noticed me. he quickly unchained an elephant and it 
came in a beeline for me. I stepped to one side to give 
him the road, as I do not care to measure strength with 
one of those giants in this warm climate or elsewhere. 
Instead of marching on, he faced me and I again hastened 
to clear the track, supposing that I had gotten into his 



Colombo to Calcutta. 155 

way by mistake. As quickly as it takes me to write it, 
he changed front and faced me again. I then was aware 
that I was the object of his movements. At this point my 
Kashmir guide informed me that the elephant was beg- 
ging, and desired me to throw some money to the floor. 
Glad enough to extricate myself from the unpleasant sit- 
uation so easily, I threw, four quarter annas (two cents) 
upon the floor, and was amazed to see the elephant pick 
them up and turn them over to his keeper, and both were 
satisfied. Before I understood that the beast was begging, 
he became impatient at my inability to comprehend his 
desire, and made a hideous noise as an evidence of his 
displeasure, requiring a stroke from the keeper's rod 
to put him to rights, and restore my self-possession. I 
afterwards hired the elephant at an expenditure of six- 
teen cents (half a rupee) and secured two snapshots of 
myself astride the beggar by having my guide operate the 
kodak. A large crowd gathered to see me mount the 
elephant, as it is quite a task when no ladder is provided 
for that purpose. An elephant is a huge bundle of flesh 
and bone even when kneeling. After he was made to 
kneel, I placed my right foot upon his knee, grasped his 
enormous ear with my right hand, and placed my left 
hand upon his neck, in which position I managed to leap 
to his back to the surprise of every beholder. When he 
arose to have our picture taken I was out of reach of every 
beggar; but when I slid down to terra firma the number 
of beggars multiplied, as they doubtless thought I was 
some rich baron, and had purchased the monster, which I 
managed at my pleasure. To make matters worse, another 
elephant keeper turned his beast loose, and with it pur- 
sued me all about the temple, desiring me to be as good 
to his elephant by having a similar picture and earning 



156 Around the World. 

the coin. My superior speed and ability to dodge about 
the piers and columns and colonnades enabled me to evade 
him and his swiftly-moving giant from the jungle. One 
of the compartments is called the "Room of a Thousand 
Pillars" because it is supported by that number of columns. 

Hinduism has multitudinous gods, the three chief gods 
being Brahma, the creator ; Vishnu, the nourisher ; and 
Siva, the destroyer. Brahma has no shrines or temples 
erected to his memory, as most Hindus have long ago 
fallen out with that god for having created the world and 
everything contained therein. Untold riches have been 
utilized in building shrines to Vishnu and Siva. I have 
no data, nor do I understand that any data exists stating 
the numerical strength of the worshipers of Vishnu or 
Siva. Some worship one, and others the other god, while 
many worship both. It is my opinion that the followers 
of Vishnu are far in the majority, as Buddha was one 
incarnation of Vishnu, and the Buddhists are numerous, 
not only in India, but also in China and Japan. Among 
the costly temples sacred to Siva, some are devoted to the 
worship of the sky, others to fire, and still others to water, 
the earth, and the air. 

Among the Hindus there are four castes, the highest 
being the Brahmans, or priests, including what is known 
as the high caste ; the second are the warriors ; the third 
are the merchants and tillers of the land ; the fourth, and 
lowest, are the sudras, or coolies. These four castes 
are subdivided into probably four thousand more. I am 
told that every person is named after some god or god- 
dess, and that every child is named after its grandfather 
or grandmother. 

During my stay in the cities of Southern India, I 
noticed many a home in city and country almost sur- 



Colombo to Calcutta. icy 

rounded with costly statuary in the shape of animals, of 
nearly every kind, size, and description. Some evidently 
cost as much as the farm or home was worth. The reply 
to my question as to the reason for such a display was: 
"The statuary is constructed and placed in position about 
the premises in order to appease the wrath of the god Siva. 
Where there are no children in a home, that home is con- 
sidered disgraced and under the condemnation of the 
gods, and such wrath must be overcome by making such a 
display before the home can be blessed with tiny feet 
and prattling lips." I saw several pieces of statuary that 
were higher than the houses, having been constructed 
at enormous cost. 

I saw hundreds, if not thousands, bathing in the sacred 
river of the Hindus for the purpose of having their sins 
washed away. 

I have been in India one week, and expect to spend 
two additional weeks in the Dark Empire, but I have seen 
enough of Hinduism thus far to disgust an iron man. 
On the other hand I have seen enough of the transforming 
influences accompanying the work of Christian missions to 
make a person shout, "Glory, hallelujah !" As I addressed 
the girls of the Bengali mission through an interpreter, I 
was lifted heavenward. The interest manifested was re- 
markable. I learned that, as Christians, many of them 
were Bible teachers, native missionaries, and masters of 
several languages, and, best of all, they were a credit to 
womankind in all that constitutes true womanhood. For- 
merly they were heartless, hopeless, downcast worshipers 
of gods of stone, wood, brass, the earth, sky, fire, and wa- 
ter. Formerly they were taught licentiousness, but now 
they are the pride of the nation as examples of what 
Christianity can do for a people. In short, there is so 



1^8 Around the World. 

much difference between a Christian home and a pagan 
home that words can not be summoned of sufficient de- 
scriptive power to bridge the chasm between them. And 
yet, in an interview with one of the teachers of Hinduism, 
I was told that the Hindu representative at the World's 
Congress of Religions at Chicago lived in Calcutta, and 
that the president of that Congress and the various del- 
egates representing the Christian religion, acknowledged 
publicly the superiority of Hinduism, and that they flocked 
about him in order simply to touch the hem of his gar- 
ment. I was perfectly familiar with the World's Congress 
at Chicago (but I did not tell him so), and I knew that 
every statement he made was absolutely false. The most 
lamentable part of the matter is, that they tell the natives 
such a concoction of untruths, causing them to cling to 
their idols, child marriages, and every other abomination 
under the sun. 

I visited the block where on June 20, 1756, the most 
ghoulish tragedy of history occurred. It is known as the 
tragedy of the Black Hole of Calcutta, into which one 
hundred and twenty-three persons were thrown, men piled 
upon fellow-men by brutes incarnate, until the devils of 
hell must have trembled lest they were being outdone by 
fiends in human form. But Lord Clive avenged this iniqui- 
tous outrage, and set on foot the establishment of the In- 
dian Empire. A towering shaft now stands in the middle 
of the street immediately in front of the famous Black- 
Hole of Calcutta. Upon this shaft are inscribed the names 
of those who perished in the living tomb. 

Calcutta, with its population of more than a million, 
is called the City of Palaces, a very deserving name. Here 
is Fort William, built in 1773 ; and the palace of the vice- 
roy, the seat of government for India, built in 1804 at a 



Colombo to Calcutta. 



*59 



cost of 13 lacs of rupees ($433,000 gold). The post-office 
building is the finest building I ever saw used for that 
purpose. 

I was delighted to meet Rev. C. C. McCown, an old 
college mate, recently assigned to his post as a teacher 
in the boys' school, and maintained by the students of 
Garrett Biblical Institute. Memories were refreshed as 
the days of not so long ago were made to pass in grand 
review before us. A very delightful conversational visit 
to the Buckeye State was made in company with Miss 
Elizabeth Maxey, formerly of Madison County, Ohio, 
where I spent my first eighteen years. She has resided 
in India the past twelve years, being in charge of the 
Deaconess Home of Calcutta. Space will not permit in- 
dividual mention of all who have been tireless in acquaint- 
ing me with India. However, I can not pass without men- 
tioning the names of Rev. D. H. Lee and wife, in charge 
of the Bengali mission, who have been as father and 
mother to me. Their children were the victims of that 
horrid Darjeeling disaster that shocked the world two 
years ago. 

I can not recall a time when I have been as weary as 
I am to-day. I have been bounced about day and night 
for weeks upon an angry ocean ; have been jolted for three 
days and nights on an Indian railway train; have been 
frightened by one cobra and several elephants ; have been 
surrounded by robbers, whom I evaded by leaping into a 
carriage and being driven out of their reach ; have had 
the company of rats and lizards in my room over night; 
have made one address after another to the Europeans, 
as well as to the natives through interpreters ; have been 
interviewed by officials and newspaper men as to my in- 
vestigations in each country or empire previously vis- 



160 Around the World. 

ited; and have received only one letter from any one in 
America. Nevertheless, I have not ceased to remember 
the home friends, and in the language of the poet I take 
pleasure in stating that — 

" I pray for them when sunset 
Is gilding every hill, 
And darkness steals the twilight, 
And all around is still ; 

When I am tired and weary, 

And all my work is o'er, 
'T is sweet to pray at close of day 

For those I see no more." 



XI. 

INDIA. 

THE LAND OF THE VEDAS — THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEO- 
PLE SPEAKING SEVENTY-EIGHT LANGUAGES — PURCHASE 
OP A WIPE — KING GIVES IN EXCHANGE THEREFOR FIVE 
HUNDRED ELEPHANTS — RELIGION IN INDIA. 

For the benefit of those who may not be conversant 
with Indian history, I shall make a few historical allu- 
sions as a preface to my tour northward and westward, 
in order that each reader may take renewed interest in 
this most interesting- quarter of the cradle of civilization. 

India, the large peninsula in the south of Asia, is lim- 
ited on the north by the Himalaya Mountains ; on the 
east by Burma and the Bay of Bengal ; on the south by 
the Indian Ocean ; on the west by Beloochistan, Afghan- 
istan, and the Arabian Sea ; and is divided into two parts, 
Hindustan and Deccan, the former being north of the 
Nerbudda River, and the latter to the south. The prov- 
ince of Burma is a part of the Indian Empire, but not so 
geographically. India has a population of about three 
hundred million and an area of about one million seven 
hundred thousand square miles. Seventy-eight languages 
are spoken, which act as a check against any sudden up- 
rising of the people. Like the Chinese, they are divided 
on account of a multitude of tongues. These empires, 
if united, could overturn a nation that might become their 
object of vengeance. 

ii 161 



1 62 Around the World. 

About iooo B. C. the Aryans set out from their home 
near the Caspian and Black Seas, and settled on the banks 
of the Indus River, which is in the west of India. Having 
made their home on the Indus, they put an H before the 
name of the river and called themselves Hindus, a name 
that follows them and their religion to this day. Their 
numbers having multiplied, they moved to the Ganges, 
pushing the aborigines before them, believing that to the 
victors belong the spoils, a system that obtains to this hour. 
From this point onward the history of India is one never- 
ceasing chapter of bloodshed, war, rapine, and destruc- 
tion. 

The early history of India is found chiefly in the four 
ancient religious books called the Vedas, written originally 
in Sanskrit. Around their heroes, tales of heroism clus- 
ter similar to those in Virgil and Homer. Forced to wor- 
ship something, and seeing, in their spiritual blindness, 
nothing more worthy of worship than material things, 
they deified the sun, moon, sky, fire, and water, which 
were worshiped according to the choice of each person. 
I will present one story from their early history. 

Sita, the beautiful queen of Rama, was captured by 
Ravana, king of Ceylon. Rama thereupon raised a large 
army from the tribes of the south, called monkeys and 
bears, with the monkey general, Hanuman, in charge. 
Hanuman leaped across the straits between India and Cey- 
lon (sixteen hours' journey by steamer), and found Sita 
a prisoner in Ceylon, and then leaped back with the news 
to Rama, her husband. The monkey troops then built a 
bridge across to Ceylon, killed Ravana, and returned 
upon the same bridge with Sita, after which the former 
disconsolate king reigned gloriously. Gautama, after- 
wards called Buddha, was born near Agra in the early 



India. 1 63 

part of the fifth century. He introduced new thought, 
which took form in the shape of Buddhism, an antagonist 
of Brahmanism ; but the opposition of the latter was so 
great that Buddhism dwindled to an insignificant position 
by the tenth century, where it still remains, while Brah- 
manism flourishes. Hinduism is all-comprehensive or 
pantheistic, and ought not to be considered as a religion. 
Hinduism primarily provides for the worship of Vishnu 
and Siva, but Buddha was the ninth incarnation of 
Vishnu ; hence the worshiper of Buddha is acceptable to 
Hinduism. The Hindu also regards Brahma as the cre- 
ator; but since Brahmanism and Buddhism are antago- 
nistic it is evident that Hinduism is in itself contradictory. 
The importance of India as early as 518 B. C. may be 
conjectured when it is known that, at that early date, 
Darius, king of Persia, invaded the North, helped him- 
self to the riches about Agra and Delhi, and sailed down 
the Indus to the sea. Having annexed several provinces 
to his realm, he reported that the revenue therefrom 
equaled one-third of all the revenue of Persia. 

The reports of the fabulous wealth of North India 
reached Greece, causing Alexander the Great, king of 
Macedon, to lead his victorious Grecian army to the far 
East. Crossing the Indus, he entered the Punjab, and 
fought his way inch by inch until victory perched upon 
his banners. Afterwards one of Alexander's generals, 
Seleucus, led an army as far as the Ganges, made a 
treaty with the reigning king, to whom he gave his daugh- 
ter in marriage, and received as pay therefor five hundred 
elephants. How weary that Grecian girl must have be- 
come, spending her life in this Indian country, far away 
from the loved ones at home ! How often amid her un- 
sightly surroundings and painful isolation from the land 



164 Around the World. 

of her nativity she must have become heart-broken and 
longed for "the peace of home again," sighing — 

" It comes to me often in silence, 
When the firelight sputters low; 
When the black, uncertain shadows 
Seem wraiths of the long ago, — 

Always with a throb of heartache, 

That thrills each pulsing vein. 
Comes the old, unquiet longing 

For the peace of home again." 

After Buddhism had been partly swallowed by Hindu- 
ism, a new competitor appeared upon the field in Moham- 
medanism, founded by Mohammed, who was born at. 
Mecca, in Arabia, 570 A. D. Twelve crusades or expe- 
ditions were made by the Mohammedans, leading to the 
planting of their religion in India. The decisive under- 
taking was against Gujerat, in West India, which was 
taken, no less than twenty thousand camels being required 
as a means of transportation. The scene of action then 
shifted to Delhi, where wars followed each other in rapid 
succession. Several dynasties of the Muhammads occu- 
pied the throne at Delhi. Desiring to expand his domain, 
the king sent one hundred thousand soldiers through the 
Himalayas to overrun China. Failing to subdue that vast 
empire of millions, only a few returned, who were put to 
death because they failed to accomplish the task assigned. 

In 1399 Tamerlane invaded India at the head of the 
Mogul or Mohammedan army, plundered the cities, took 
multitudes of prisoners, and, finding so many prisoners 
were a burden, put one hundred thousand of them to 
death, marched to Delhi, captured the city, and, it is said, 
put every person to death. The city of Agra also figured 
prominently in the various wars waged. Barbar, Huma- 
yun, Akbar, and Shah Jahan, through numerous battles, 



India. 165 

made every square mile about Delhi and Agra historic. 
The famous Shah Jahan is known as "the world's great- 
est builder." The Jumma Musjid, the Peacock throne at 
Delhi, and the Taj Mahal at Agra, are regarded as the 
finest pieces of architecture known to man. These I shall 
visit and describe en route to Bombay. 

The magnificence of Orientalism became known in 
Western Europe in the fifteenth century. Attempts were 
made to reach this land of splendor by an all-sea route. 
Some sailed toward Labrador, others towards the West 
Indies, one Christopher Columbus in particular. Vasco 
de Gama shipped around the Cape of Good Hope, and 
landed on the west coast of India in 1498. Portugal and 
Spain occupied the field till 1588, when the so-called In- 
vincible Spanish Armada went down before the British, 
giving Britain a leverage on the Far East. 

A royal charter was signed by Queen Elizabeth in 
1600 providing for the establishment of the English East 
India Company. Under it occurred the misrule of War- 
ren Hastings in 1772- 1785 ; the tragedy of the Black Hole 
of Calcutta in 1756; the siege of Delhi; the massacre of 
Cawnpore ; and the relief of Lucknow in 1857, which ad- 
ministered a death-blow to the East India Company, and 
the entire authority and administration of India was as- 
sumed by the crown of England. English rule has faced 
a series of wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, and finan- 
cial embarrassments, but thrives in spite of a thousand 
difficulties. 

The first Burmese war cost England twenty thousand 
lives and $72,000,000, and as late as 1898 she was forced 
to use sixty thousand troops in quelling an uprising 
among the discontented. At present England has sev- 
enty-five thousand of her soldiers in India, and, in addition 
thereto, keeps one hundred and fifty thousand native 



1 66 Around the World. 

troops under arms. Hence it is seen that peace in India 
is now purchased at the point of the bayonet, requiring 
a vast army of two hundred and twenty-five thousand, 
nearly a quarter of a million drilled men. In an inter- 
view with a major of the British army I was informed 
that the total expense of maintaining this horde of men 
is saddled upon the Colonial Government and is provided 
for by taxes, etc. ; hence, it is seen that these poor, de- 
graded, struggling, famine-stricken, naked natives foot 
the bill just as "Jones pays the freight." The splendid 
results that have come to India through British occupa- 
tion are immeasurable, yet it is my conviction that the 
American Government will make the mistake of its his- 
tory if it assumes a lordship over the Filpinos with the 
iron hand so noticeable in Britain's dealings with the 
Indians. 

While Edward VII, king of England, is emperor of 
India, he is represented here by Lord Curzon, the vice- 
roy or governor-general who resides at the palace in Cal- 
cutta. His wife is an American woman, captured by Lord 
Curzon at Chicago. 

I am disgusted with the way natives do things. They 
are thousands of years behind time. The people, even 
among the highest castes, use neither knife, fork, nor 
spoon, but dash their hands into the one dish observed at 
meal-time, and feed themselves in a way that makes one 
wish for a club. They think chairs and tables a nuisance, 
and beds are of no more use to them than boots to snakes. 
Some of them seem to think it impolite to put any clothes 
whatever about their children until they become ever so 
old, say eight to ten years, and then the clothing, in many 
instances, is often abbreviated to an encircling twine string 
or thread, upon which is suspended a small, dangling, 
metal heart. 




A Bengali Child- Mother, India. 



India. £67 

Child marriage is enough to make one sick of the 
human race. It, next to caste, is the curse of India. If 
the husband dies, the widow becomes an outcast. Kicked 
out into the streets or jungles, she must starve, beg, steal, 
sell herself as a slave, or be driven to suicide, as multi- 
tudes are. 

On the streets of Calcutta I saw a young widow aged 
probably fourteen to sixteen years, though compared with 
Americans, her age would be guessed at ten or twelve 
years. Her little child, old enough to walk, was standing 
by her side, naked, its face upturned towards its mamma's 
face; tears were creeping down its face as it showed evi- 
dence of begging for something to stay its craving hunger. 
The little child's mother, nine-tenths naked, was looking 
down, half weeping, at the little one, which she was unable 
to help. No one could look upon that scene, observe that 
girl with features that would grace the world's best spec- 
imens of girlhood, see the unquestioned evidence of moth- 
erhood, together with the intense grief that had possession 
of both mother and child, without longing for the strength 
of the world's navies and armies and to be clothed with 
power to use them as a gallant knight for the overthrow 
of women slavery in India. 

Britain sent two hundred thousand troops to South 
Africa to redress a reported wrong or to grasp territory, 
while here, almost under the governor-general's palace, the 
most stupendous outrage in the world's history thrives on 
the ground that this monster must be dealt with conserva- 
tively. I am of the opinion that this outrage of centuries' 
standing would have been throttled long ago by the use 
of belching battery and bristling bayonet, if the posses- 
sion of some surf-beaten island and additional revenue 
were to be gained. 

It has not been so long ago since the living widow was 



1 68 Around the World. 

burned on the funeral pyre of her deceased husband. The 
first reform step was taken when the widow was allowed 
to decide whether she was to be burned alive. But, then, 
the treatment of a widow was so inhuman that many 
chose to be burned alive rather than to remain and be 
kicked and cuffed about by heartless men. To-day the 
rules of caste are that rigid that any person is driven from 
home, friends, and kindred if he should take a cup of 
cold water from the hand of a person belonging to a lower 
caste. If a neighbor is dying, no help can be offered or 
received if not between those of the same caste. Strange 
to relate, however, that in ordinary life the lower castes 
must assist the upper as servants, which is not breaking 
caste. 

The other day two persons lay on the roadside, dying. 
They had lain all the previous day, unable to move out of 
the burning rays of the sun. None of their caste came 
by, and those who did see them were prevented on account 
of caste from giving a cup of cold water which they so 
much desired, a tank of thirty-six thousand gallons being 
only thirty yards away. When my missionary friend 
found them, one was dead, his face being eaten away by 
the razor-backed dogs that infest that section. The other 
was able to keep the hungry dogs away ; but he soon passed 
to his reward, thankful for the coming of the missionary 
who knows no caste. When thoughtless people drive poi- 
soned shafts of criticism at the missionary, I am tempted 
to take up arms and become a fighting parson. 



XII. 
CALCUTTA TO BENARES AND LUCKNOW. 

BENARES, THE SACRED CITY OE THE HINDUS — TRIP ON THE 
GANGES, THE SACRED RIVER — THE MONKEY TEMPLE — 
THE GHASTEY SIEGE OE LUCKNOW — CONDITIONS INCI- 
DENT TO DARKEST HEATHENDOM — A PEOPLE WORSHIP- 
ING EOUR THOUSAND GODS — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 

Having spent three eventful days in Calcutta, I began 
my tour to the north and west, leaving Howrah Station, 
Calcutta, at 9 o'clock P. M., on the Punjab mail-train 
for Benares, four hundred and seventy-nine miles away, 
requiring fourteen hours for the trip, arriving in this City 
of Temples at 11 o'clock the forenoon of the day fol- 
lowing. 

Benares, the holy city of the Hindus, is situated on the 
north bank of the Ganges River, the sacred river that once 
flowed in heaven, if Hinduism be true. Vishnu, the nour- 
ishing God, needing assistance in producing good crops, 
saw to it that this river, thirty-six hundred feet wide here, 
not only took up its present position, but also saw to it that 
this river should remain on earth. Only one side of it, 
the north side, is sacred. The Hindu firmly believes that 
all who die on the north side become monkeys, and those 
who die on the other side become donkeys ; hence the 
popularity of the north side, as these people regard the 
outlook as better in the monkey state than in donkeydom. 

A magnificent temple has been erected at enormous 
169 



170 Around the World. 

cost to the monkey god, and the temple is peopled with live 
monkeys of every size and age. The purchase of two 
anna's worth of popcorn, nuts, etc., for the monkeys is the 
only condition precedent to admission to this temple, with 
which condition I gladly complied, and entered only to be 
surrounded by thieving monkey villains. And still they 
came, clambering down walls, over beams, up steps, slid- 
ing down ropes, from every direction. Like Leonidas at 
Thermopylae, I held my ground for a time, as the vermints 
were very civil after the supply department was exhausted. 

The most interesting features of Benares are the 
ghauts (stone, steps), where the bathing for the washing 
away of sins takes place from morning till night, every 
day of the year. Several ghauts are reserved for burning 
the remains of Hindus. They are stacked alongside the 
water, cordwood is piled upon them ; the torch is applied ; 
the fire rages, and the last vestige is destroyed as men, 
standing with poles, prod the unconsumed parts back into 
the flames. Some take great pains to have the feet of 
the corpse in the water of the Ganges as the remainder 
of the body is burned, so that the goddess of the Ganges 
might be sure to secure the deceased. Finally the feet 
are thrown into the flames and the cremation ends. I saw 
them in all processes ; some being carried in on the shoul- 
ders of men, like cordwood ; others being covered with 
wood ; and still others wrapped in flames. 

Here I chartered a boat with four rowers, and made a 
trip up and down the Ganges among the multitude of wor- 
shipers and bathers and in front of the burning ghauts. 
I noticed a merry company of people stretching a garland 
of flowers across the river. On questioning my English- 
speaking guide as to what it meant, he replied : "That is 
a necklace of flowers offered to the Ganges because of a 
vow made by a man several years ago. It is an old cus- 



Calcutta to Lucknow. 



171 



torn among - those who have no children to make a vow 
to the goddess of the Ganges, promising to give to the 
sacred river a necklace of flowers if a son might be born 
to the household. This offering is to be made when the 
son is ten years old. A great holiday is made of the occa- 
sion of the boy reaching the age of ten years, a genuine 
picnic, to which all the relatives are supposed to come 
and make merry." It was thus in this case. A jolly party 
was on the bank as the boat crossed the river, stretching 
the two ropes upon which flowers were fastened about 
six inches or less apart. No two adjoining flowers were 
alike, and all were beautiful, costing a considerable sum 
to prepare. The occasion was further celebrated by the 
launching of a paper boat containing sweetmeats as an 
additional offering to the river goddess. Those belonging 
to the higher castes, and therefore not wanting to be seen, 
had tents held over them during their plunge into the 
river for the remission of sins. 

Bathing in the Ganges is necessary to salvation, is 
their teaching; and it must be on the north side, as the 
south side does not count. Across the river I saw 
vultures busily engaged picking the bones of some poor 
fellow who had not bathed daily in the river, and did not 
have money or friends to prepare his funeral pyre ; hence 
he must become food for the birds of the air, which also 
are sacred. I saw a few skulls bleaching in the sun. I 
asked the guide why those worshipers dip up that filthy 
Ganges water and put it into their mouth, and he an- 
swered: "To worship Ganges that way. Hindus got 
plenty gods." 

Going down one of the streets of Benares, I noticed a 
procession of people accompanied with much music, each 
person adorned in gorgeous apparel, and I asked what 
that meant. The guide responded : "Some one got a chil- 



172 Around the World. 

dren, and they rejoice and go take it a present." Further 
down the street I saw an old, very old man being dragged 
through the street by what appeared to be a ten-year-old 
child. The aged man, being unable to walk, was helped 
to the Ganges, so that he might perform the rites of 
Hinduism before going to his long home. When I state 
that that man was too scantily clad for me to use my kodak 
you will get some idea of the every-day scenes in a vast 
city, known as the sacred city of the Hindus, with its 
quarter of a million of people. 

For eight hundred years Benares was the headquarters 
of Buddhism ; but in 4 A. D. Buddhism failed. The Mo- 
hammedans took Benares in 1194 A. D., and held it for 
nearly six hundred years, or until 1775, when it was ceded 
to the British. 

Desiring to avoid the backsheesh extractors at the hotel 
at Benares, I took carriage quite unexpectedly to them ; 
but those horses, doubtless trained for the purpose, balked 
at the hotel door and left me at the mercy of the crew, 
composed of begging employees ranging in position all 
the way from the grand providers of the toothpicks down 
to the imperial pancake-turners. Not willing to be out- 
done by a balking team, I sprang into another carriage 
and was off for the depot. 

My next stop was at Lucknow, a city of three hundred 
thousand, situated one hundred and eighty-seven miles 
from Benares. Lucknow is the fourth city of India, being 
surpassed only by Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. It is 
the capital of the province, and is noted for the splendor 
of its palace, built as a relief work during the famine of 
1780, costing $5,000,000. The British have a first-class 
garrison here consisting of two regiments of infantry, one 
of cavalry, two batteries of artillery, one native infantry 
regiment, and one of native cavalry. 



Calcutta to Lucknow 



173 



Writing of Lucknow, Rudyard Kipling said : "There 
is no city, except Bombay the queen of all, more beautiful 
in her garish style than Lucknow, whether you see her 
from the bridge over the river, or from the top of the Im- 
ambora, looking down on the gilt umbrellas of the Chut- 
ter Muzil and the trees in which the town is bedded. 
Kings have adorned her with fantastic buildings, endowed 
her with charities, crammed her with pensioners, and 
drenched her with blood. She is the center of all idleness, 
intrigue, and luxury." 

Probably no other event in Indian history is more 
noteworthy than the memorable siege of Lucknow. Early 
in 1857 discontent spread throughout India. The natives 
unwisely objected to the spread of education and the in- 
troduction of railways and the telegraph. Disgruntled 
people went from regiment to regiment, endeavoring to 
persuade the Sepoy troops to mutiny. A new kind of 
rifle was issued to the troops -in place of the old, and for 
these rifles greased cartridges were supplied. The Sepoys 
were made to believe that these cartridges were issued for 
the purpose of abolishing their caste, and also as a direct 
slap at the Mohammedans, who regard pork as food for 
the devils only. Many regiments refused to accept the 
greased cartridges, and the British authorities then re- 
called the order, but it was too late. The fire had started, 
and no amount of persuasion could extinguish it without 
bloodshed. 

The British had two hundred thousand Sepoys in the 
army and only a few home troops, as all that could be 
spared had been used in the Crimean war, and had not 
returned to their stations. Sir Henry Lawrence was in 
command of the British garrison at Lucknow. Fearing 
that the mutiny might reach Lucknow, he purchased pro- 
visions for a siege, and stored them away in the residency. 



1 74 Around the World. 

His wisdom was in evidence, for on July 4, 1857, the res- 
idency was besieged and Lawrence was killed by a shell 
from the batteries of the Sepoys planted in front of his 
headquarters. The mutineers to the number of fifty thou- 
sand appeared on the scene on June 30th, but did not 
begin the work of destruction till July 2d. 

Within the residency were 2,633 persons of whom only 
730 were European soldiers, 479 were loyal native soldiers, 
237 were women, 260 children, and about 800 natives. Of 
this number less than half, including sick and wounded, 
were left to tell the awful tale of suffering endured during 
the one hundred and forty-six days of siege. In company 
with the Rev. D. L. Thoburn, who has spent many years 
in Lucknow, I visited the residency and various points of 
interest connected with the siege of Lucknow. The res- 
idency, once a palatial structure, is now in ruins ; its roof 
gone; its walls covered with the marks of pounding can- 
non. The housetop is pointed out which "Bobs," now 
known as the hero of the British in South Africa, climbed 
as Lieutenant Roberts to signal his arrival with re-en- 
forcements. A walled garden is visited where two thou- 
sand Sepoys were shot and bayoneted to a man by the 
Highlanders and Lowlanders of Scotland, maddened by 
the cruelty of the Sepoys in murdering innocent women 
and children. 

As I descended the steps at the residency to visit the 
underground rooms where the European women and chil- 
dren were packed away for safety, I was shocked as I 
thought of what those four hundred and ninety-seven wo- 
men and children must have endured during the one 
hundred and forty- six days of siege. Hidden away 
in the dark, having little ventilation and less light, with 
cannon booming, dropping shells into their midst, mus- 
ketry rattling against the walls, the cries of the wounded 



Calcutta to Lucknow. 175 

and moans of the dying, — all must have combined to make 
death preferable to living. Many a time had I read Ten- 
nyson's "Defense of Lucknow," but it now has tenfold 
more meaning to me than ever before. 

" Banner of England, not for a season, O banner of Britain, hast 
thou 
Floated in conquering battle or flapt to the battle cry ; 
Never with mightier glory than when we had reared thee on 
high, 
Flying at top of the roofs in the ghastly siege of Lucknow, 
Shot through the staff or halyard, but ever we raised thee anew, 
And ever upon the topmost roof our banner of England blew." 

A glimpse of the untold suffering of the siege may be 
caught from the following lines : 

"Heat like the mouth of hell, or a deluge of cataract skies; 

Stench of old offal decaying, and infinite torment of flies ; 

Thoughts of the breezes of May blowing over an English field ; 

Cholera, scurvy, and fever, the wound that would not be healed ; 

Lapping away the limb by the pitiful, pitiless knife; 

Torture and trouble in vain, for it never could save a life ; 

Valor of delicate women who attended the hospital bed; 

Horror of women in travail among the dying and dead ; 

Grief of our perishing children, and never a moment for grief; 

Toil and ineffable weariness, faltering hopes of relief; 

Havelock baffled, or beaten, or butchered for all that we knew ; 
Then, day and night, coming down on the still shattered walls, 
Millions of musket balls, thousands of cannon balls, — 

But ever upon the topmost roof our banner of England blew." 

A few survivors of that siege having been retired on 
account of years of active service, pensioners of the Brit- 
ish Empire, prefer to live here and act as guides to show 
visitors the points of interest. Some return to England 
to spend their last days, but, becoming tired of a North- 
ern clime, hasten back to India where they sacrificed — 
where they are more at home. 



176 Around the World. 

When I mentioned to British officers that some of their 
treatment of the natives is harsh, too severe, they invari- 
ably suggest that rigid discipline is the only safeguard 
to any government whatever. While there is ample 
ground for criticising British management and rule in 
India, I am ready to compliment the Briton for what he 
has done for India, and to hurrah for the Union Jack 
whenever I see it floating at a masthead, though my love 
for the Stars and Stripes is not lessened. When I see 
wrongs that need to be righted, practices that ought to be 
abolished, a thousand and one things that need to be ad- 
justed when little apparent effort appears to be put forth 
to correct them, I am reminded that this is a great under- 
taking, the management of these multitudinous millions. 
Their wrong ideas and practices were rooted and grounded 
centuries before England was born. Centuries of error 
can not be overcome in a day. 

The mission work in Lucknow is advancing by leaps 
and bounds. Publishing-houses, churches, colleges, fam- 
ine-relief works, shops, and technic schools are working 
wonders, whose splendid results point to the salvation of 
India, and happy ought he to be who has a part in this 
work by labor bestowed or by assisting in sustaining those 
on the field. 

The missionaries are a brave lot of people. Always 
in danger, they are fearless. In America I have heard peo- 
ple say, "They do not want them in mission lands." I 
now rise to ask who are meant by that indefinite "they?" 

Because a people rise, as did certain Chinese, and kill 
a number of missionaries, some one hurries to the conclu- 
sion that the gospel-bearers are not wanted. In America 
one might just as safely say that no police are wanted 
in any city because a few policemen and marshals are 
killed every year in America. Yes, a dozen have been 



Calcutta to Lucknow. jyj 

known to be killed in one day. Why not pull down all the 
churches in America and put the ministers back into the 
profession from which they came — where many of them 
received a larger salary — why not do this because some 
ministers have been killed for telling the truth ? I am con- 
vinced that that celebrated European scholar told the 
truth when he said : "The world's greatest and best men 
are her missionaries." 

About Benares and Lucknow camels are in abundance. 
They are used as a means of transportation instead of 
street cars. I am informed that they travel seventy to 
eighty miles per day, and can travel fifteen days and re- 
quire only one drink of water. If a man has produce to 
bring to the city, he transports it upon the back of his 
camel or on carts. Importers of goods from California 
have a unique way of advertising their goods. Along with 
certain advertising data on the back of a hotel menu card 
I noticed the following concerning California : 

"In this far distant Western paradise, the scenery is 
picturesque and grand, and there is probably no country 
in the world to compare with it." 

Not only has the fame of delightful California made 
an impression upon the inhabitants of this side of the 
globe, but, strange to relate, the fame of Carrie Nation 
has marched around the globe until she is known within 
the jungles of Asia. I clip the following from a paper 
printed at Singapore, down on the equator: 

"NATIONAL PERIL. 

" [Mrs. Carrie Nation, the saloon-smasher, has started a crusade 
against tobacco.] 

Mrs. Nation, when you hankered 

To administer a blow 
Tc the alcoholic tankard 

And to crush the bowls that flow, 

12 



178 Around the World. 

I approved the happy notion, 

Watched your efforts with delight. 

My affection for ' the lotion ' 
(As they call it) is but slight. 

But O, dear ! your latest movement 

Fills my soul with keen dismay ; 
In your passion for improvement 

You would take our pipes away. 
But unless you simply hate us, 

Can you ponder undismayed 
On the horrors that await us 

At the end of this crusade? 

Take your enterprising hatchet 

To some more deserving curse ; 
Our tobacco, if you snatch it, 

Must give place to something worse. 
While you war against the ' soakers ' 

I applaud ; but O, refrain 
From reducing honest smokers 

To an after-dinner cane!" 

Having often wondered why the Asiatic carries his 
burdens on his head, I now think I have the solution, 
and it is this : The wife, being a beast of burden, or even 
worse in many places, is forced to carry from one to four 
baskets on her head at one time and a child in her arms, 
while her lazy scoundrel of a husband can trot along be- 
hind to see that she does not stop to rest before the hovel 
of a home is reached. 

Women of America ! do you appreciate the leavening 
and equalizing influences of Christianity? Or would you 
prefer to live in a country where a non-Christian religion 
is in the ascendency ? When I arrive in America after 
seeing the position of women in Japan, China, Malaysia, 
and India, it will be difficult for me to have, any patience 
with the woman who asserts that she has no sympathy 
for Christianity. British officers tell me that they favor 



Calcutta to Lucknow. 



179 



missions, as heathen religions are stronger in India than 
the British Government itself. Missionaries can do more 
for the amelioration of India than the army. When such 
admissions are made, I wax optimistic in extolling the 
virtues of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

" They may tell you that hate is rampant, 
That love is now dying out, 
That the devil will conquer the sons of men, 
And put all their plains to rout. 

But do n't you believe it, daughter, 

And do n't you believe it, son ; 
For the good that exceeds the evil deeds 

In life's battle is ten to one. 

Then let the grumblers grumble, 

And let the croakers croak ; 
The world is what we make it, dear, 

And love is the master-stroke. 

It will kill the wrath of nations, 

It will soften the chastening rod; 
It will even abide and lead and guide 

The love that was born of God." 

I have been puzzled to know what terms to use in de- 
scribing these natives who have not been reached by civ- 
ilizing or Western influences. Filth, squalor, vermin — 
in short, everything unsightly and hideous — is the object 
of their choice. Their houses; smaller than street cars 
and as presentable as cesspools, are dark as cellars, there 
being no windows and only one door, and usually one roof, 
for a dozen or more so-called houses. Such buildings 
cluster about a central hog-wallow, no two houses being 
built on the same lines, but all apparently striving for the 
honor of facing said disgusting swine paradise. The only 
exit for the smoke is the door, and it is always full of 
questionable-eyed youngsters, clad in — I '11 not say what. 



i8o Around the World. 

Their parlor, sitting-room, and kitchen is composed of a 
few square feet of well-beaten, grassless earth directly in 
front of the door -and within half a jump of swinedom, a 
reeking, germ-ridden, pestilential, ill-smelling bog. At 
any time of the day from one to thirteen persons of all 
ages and sexes may be seen stretched out full length with 
the dogs, cats, and goats upon the ground before the hovel. 
When the good wife announces dinner, the entire posse 
stretches twice, sits up, and the thirteen, more or less, 
immerse their hands in the food served in one cheese-box 
of a dish, and the process of feeding begins. I forgot to 
state that the last one to get his hand in the swim is too 
unutterably late for any use, and finds employment in 
holding the howling dog and cat by the tail while the 
others get the platter in shape to be turned over to the 
dog and cat to lick to save the bother of washing dish — 
not dishes, as we are used to hearing it referred to by 
the American ladies who enjoy such sport, never. Early 
in the morning these people may be seen upon the house- 
tops waiting for the sun to give them a warming, as they 
are out of coal and clothes too. I have prowled about at 
all hours of both day and night, bent on seeing India, and 
if the word of the missionaries is worthy evidence, I am 
seeing India as few others have, excepting the bishops 
who are notorious for having traveled multitudinous miles. 

These Indian guides are schemers. I have avoided 
them in most places by having Americans to smooth the 
way. Tell the guide just where you want to go, and in 
nine cases out of ten he will run you into some bazaar 
where he has been previously offered a per centum on all 
goods purchased by customers steered hither by his di- 
plomacy. 

From the number of girls and women seen carrying 
water in large earthen pitchers on their head, one would 



Calcutta to Lucknow. 181 

infer that water is in common use. One glance inside the 
average household drives this idea into hiding, for dirt 
is omnipresent, a hundred generations having doubtless 
lived in the same dwelling and added to the original a 
generation of dirt each. If the Hercules, who turned a 
river out of its course to cleanse the Augean stables, were 
here, he would need a pair of Mississippis in addition to 
the Ganges and Indus in order to get through the outer- 
most coating so painfully evident. 

Many native stores display all their goods on the 
ground in front. If a drove of sheep or hogs appears, 
the entire stock is quickly carried inside by the lady in 
charge, or, if she happens to be out gossiping with the 
neighbors when any calamity is pending, the little six- 
year-old saddles the heavy articles upon the back of his 
younger sisters, and no harm is done. In one place I 
noticed a drove of hungry sheep in the act of eating a 
merchant out of house and home. Such of his produce 
as they did not eat in the raid was trampled upon and 
rendered unfit for dogs ; yet I have no doubt that his cus- 
tomers found no fault, as "every one is destined to eat 
his peck of dirt." 

Would you be pleased to see some of these non-Chris- 
tian natives in their choice costume ? One description will 
not suffice, as they dress in about as many costumes as 
they have gods — namely, four thousand or more. I will 
waste no time with those under eight or ten years of age ; 
for they, and many others much older, usually wear little 
more than the sheen of perennial Indian sunshine. There 
are exceptions to this, however. But let us turn to those 
more presentable. Many an Indian belle have I seen with 
from six to fifteen bone, nickel, silver, and brass rings 
about her ankles ; that many, or more, about her wrists 
and arms ; a half dozen about her neck ; large rings in her 



1 82 Around the World. 

ears; one to three very large rings in her nose; at least 
four fingers literally covered with rings ; huge claws on 
her toes, resembling claws of a dragon ; bareheaded ; shoe- 
less and stockingless, with a loose gown folded about her 
body. As she walks the street, her jewelry sounds like the 
rattle of tin pans, cymbals, and a rattlebox combined. 

One native told me that women wear rings on their 
toes to indicate that they are married. Some women not 
only wear large rings in the nose — which I judge must 
be raised by a derrick when they eat — but also wear side 
clamps on the nose ; for what reason I have no knowledge. 
Many are to be seen at their work, wearing only a short 
waist and a pair of men's overalls, with most of the lower 
part cut away to be used as dish-towels ; but they use no 
dishes, knives, forks, spoons, tables, or chairs, as a rule; 
hence why those overalls are thus abbreviated remains to 
me a mystery awaiting solution. Many of the high-caste 
Parsee women wear a silk coat or a blouse and men's 
pantaloons of silk, and in this way appear on the streets. 
Among the men a very few wear European clothes. The 
remainder either wear a turban, or go bareheaded. Nearly 
all are barefooted. A captain of the British army just 
said, "State that the men wear a rag around them." This 
is a rough-and-easy way of describing what baffles de- 
scription. The question of clothing varies with the lati- 
tude, the time of the year, the caste, and the purse. 
Many among the coolie class wear the one small reg- 
ulation band, while others are more lavish in their ward- 
robe and appear in an entire pair of trousers, or cloth 
answering the purpose, and still others add to this a 
shirt that has been constructed without either scissors 
or needle and thread. 



XIII. 

LUCKNOW TO DELHI. 

VIA CAWNPORE AND AGRA — HISTORIC MEMORIAL WELL — 
THE TAJ MAHAL, THE WORLD'S MASTERPIECE IN 
ARCHITECTURE — KING AKBAR, THE NAPOLEON OE THE 
EAST — ORIENTAL SPLENDOR — A LAND OE RUINS. 

Anxious to see the historical Memorial Well at 
Cawnpore, I visited that city, situated on the south bank 
of the Ganges, forty-six miles from Lucknow. At Cawn- 
pore the mutineers were led by Nana Punt, who became 
angry at the English because they refused to give him 
the pension formerly paid to his father. For three weeks 
the Europeans held out ; but numbers surrendered on 
the promise that they would be conducted safely to Alla- 
habad. Boats were provided to conduct the four hun- 
dred and fifty soldiers down the Ganges. But no sooner 
had the men started than they were fired upon by the 
treacherous Sepoys who were on the bank to see them 
off. Those who were not killed outright leaped into 
the river, and made an attempt to escape, only to be 
shot like dogs in the water. Four of the number dived 
a sufficient distance down stream to escape, but were 
unable to leave the water until they reached the city of 
Allahabad, the City of God. What their sufferings were 
can hardly be imagined. The women and children were 
imprisoned at Cawnpore to await the worst treatment 
that ever became the lot of any people. Hearing of the 

183 



184 Around the World. 

horrible tragedy on the river, English troops came pour- 
ing in from all over India in order to save the women 
and children, if possible. General Havelock was in com- 
mand of the relief forces, and easily defeated Nana 
Punt, who, vexed at his own defeat, hurried into Cawn- 
pore, ordered all the women and children, numbering 
nearly two hundred, to be brought out and butchered 
as if they had been rats instead of the wives and children 
of British officers and merchants. To hide his ghoulish 
work, he ordered the dead, the dying, and a few who 
were untouched, to be thrown head first into a well, 
from which not a person was rescued alive. The Brit- 
ish arrived too late. However, the ringleaders were 
caught, and each was made to lick up a square foot of 
the blood and gore deposited upon the large circular 
rock surrounding the well. After this performance, 
the culprits were hanged upon a tree, pointed out by 
the soldier on duty at the Memorial Church and Well. 
The Memorial Church was erected at a cost of $100,- 
000 to the memory of the men and women of England 
who fell in that dreadful massacre. Over the Memorial 
Well, on a raised mound, stands a figure representing 
the "Angel of the Resurrection," with outspread wings, 
arms crossed, and in each hand is a palm-leaf draped 
and bending over the center of that once living tomb. 
This piece of statuary was executed from white marble, 
and was designed by the noted Baron Marochetti. A 
large octagonal gothic screen of marble surrounds the 
statuary. Over the arch are these words : "These are 
they which came out of great tribulation." Around the 
circle of the well, carved in marble are these words : 
"Sacred to the perpetual memory of a great company of 
Christian people, chiefly women and children, who, near 
this spot, were cruelly murdered by the followers of the 



Lucknow to Delhi. 185 

rebel, Nana Dhandu Punt, and cast, the dying with the 
dead, into the well below, on 15th July, 1857." 

On my arrival at Cawnpore I was met by Rev. Dr. 
R. Hoskins, who knew of my coming from having seen 
an announcement of my itinerary in a Calcutta paper, 
the editor having invited me to dine with him, and then 
commented quite favorably upon the wisdom of my tak- 
ing such complete itinerary in the great Indian Empire, 
the land of the Vedas. Dr. Hoskins, having been a 
resident of India forty years, and possessing such ripe 
scholarship, proved very helpful to me during my stay 
in Cawnpore, and prepared me somewhat for the won- 
ders of Agra and Delhi yet to be visited. 

Here I saw the great Ganges canal, built at a cost 
of ten million dollars, representing only a part of the 
irrigation system of India. Cawnpore has five railroads 
and a population of more than two hundred thousand. 
Here, as well as in the large cities of India, are a num- 
ber of woolen and cotton factories, tanneries, flourmills, 
boot and harness works, and sugarmills. Famine relief 
work is quite extensive also. 

It was interesting to note that the natives had made 
a god of General Smith of the British army because he 
had been very favorable to them by a grant of a piece 
of land. So pleased were they on account of his dona- 
tion that an equestrian statue of him was made and 
placed in their temple along with their gods for every- 
day worship. If men of money would like to be worshiped 
as gods, they might secure the coveted honor by sending 
photos with their checks, and live for untold years in 
Hindu history. This freak further illustrates what the 
guide meant when he said, "Hindus got plenty gods." 

After a very interesting sojourn at Cawnpore, I 
booked for Agra, a city of one hundred and seventy-five 



1 86 Around the World. 

thousand, located one hundred and fifty-eight miles to 
the northwest of Cawnpore, on the bank of the Jumna 
River. Agra was founded by Akbar in 1566, and con- 
tinued the magnificent court of the kings down to the 
time of Shah Jehan, the great builder. The ruins of 
old Agra across the river are easily traced, showing 
where the Afghan kings of Hindustan reigned until over- 
thrown at the battle of Paniphat by Barbar, the founder 
of the Mogul dynasty. Akbar built as a protection to 
the city the most imposing fortification I have seen in 
India. It is seventy feet high and two miles long, form- 
ing a complete circle about his palace. It is faced with 
red sandstone throughout and is surrounded by a moat 
in places twenty feet deep. Beyond the moat are traces 
of old fortifications, and another moat though much 
smaller than the main one. On entering the fort, one 
crosses a bridge, which is drawn up at night when the huge 
doors are closed. A regiment of British soldiers occupies 
the fort where a large quantity of war equipment is 
stored. Akbar is called the Napoleon of the East, but it 
is evident that a battery of modern heavy artillery could 
level that towering fort in a few hours. 

Inside the fort are the gorgeous Halls of Public 
and Private Audience, the Palace of Glass, and what 
is called the Pearl Mosque, a perfect masterpiece of art. 
The Pearl Mosque is lined with marble throughout, 
and is acknowledged by critics to be without equal in 
the entire world as a building for worship on account 
of the chaste and uplifting character of its design. The 
Private Hall of Audience is famous on account of its 
jasmine tower and golden pavilion, and affords a splen- 
did view of the Taj, which thus far has so completely 
baffled description that I have not developed sufficient 
courage to undertake it. Connected with the Hall of 



Lucknow to Delhi. 187 

Audience is the grape garden, around which are the 
residences of the ladies of the harem, fronted by a mar- 
ble pavilion, adjoining which are the baths called the 
Marble Palace. The baths are three in number — one for 
the children, one for the ladies of the harem, and one 
for the king — all of which are made of marble, and so 
far surpassed anything that I had seen or even imagined 
skilled workmen could contrive that I have nothing in 
mind with which to compare them. I have visited the 
White House at Washington, D. C, yet there is a vast 
gap between the best observed heretofore and the splen- 
dor seen within the walls of the fort at Agra, built by 
and for King Akbar and his successors. With a people 
shackled with poverty, the kings and their favorite wo- 
men thrived in indescribable luxury or in extravagance 
run mad. 

The large court upon which all this building luxuriance 
faced, is laid off in squares of white and black marble and 
red sandstone, like a chess-board, and was used by Akbar 
on which to play all sorts of games, using girls clad in 
perennial sunshine as living pieces, who moved from 
square to square as the game proceded before his kingly 
gaze. As I walked from square to square and imagined 
the scene which enlivened this historic court centuries ago, 
I was impressed that the God of vengeance had decreed 
the destruction of such an extravagant and licentious 
court. The marble courts, palaces, and pavilions en- 
dure untarnished, while Akbar and his successors have 
long ago ceased to operate on the checker-board of his- 
tory, their marble works inlaid with turquoises, garnets, 
amethysts, sapphires, crystals, and diamonds being the 
home of bats. 

Having delayed as long as I dare, my pen and weary 
brain yearn to be done with the Taj Mahal, that mauso- 



1 88 Around the World. 

leum called a "dream in marble," erected by that most 
magnificent of all the royal builders, Shah Jehan, as a 
tomb for his wife. 

From the East Indian Railway time-table I clip the 
following brief note of description : 

"The exquisite beauty of this wonder of the world 
stands unrivaled, and affords an illustration of the saying 
that 'The Moguls designed like Titans, and finished like 
jewelers.' Built of the purest Jeypore marble, the mau- 
soleum stands on a raised platform, at each corner of 
which is a tall and graceful minaret. Beneath the large 
dome, and within an inclosure of most delicately-carved 
marble fretwork, are the richly inlaid tombs of the prin- 
cess and her husband, Shah Jehan. The Taj, which 
was commenced in 1630 and completed in 1648, is de- 
scribed as representing 'the most highly-elaborated stage 
of ornamentation, the stage at which the architect ends 
and the jeweler begins.' In regard to color and design, 
its interior may rank first in the world for purely deco- 
rative workmanship ; while the perfect symmetry of its 
exterior, and the aerial grace of its domes and minarets, 
impress the mind of the beholder in a. manner never to 
be forgotten." 

As one approaches this marvel from the city its tow- 
ering dome seems to be suspended from heaven. Coming 
still closer it fades away behind the wall of red sand- 
stone, causing one to prepare for a disappointment. I 
expected to be disappointed, as I had no idea that any 
work of men could deserve the eulogies lavished upon 
the Taj by its every visitor for nearly three hundred 
years. I had read of the Taj until I had concluded that, 
possibly, travelers had paid their respects to it in the 
most lavish terms because it was fashionable to do so. 
Approaching it half-prejudiced against it, my surprise 



Lucknow to Delhi. 1 89 

was all the more marked when, upon entering the grand 
archway, I was completely captured and surrendered at 
once without the slightest evidence of resistance. In 
other words, that sight of a lifetime spiked my cannon, 
seized my powder and threw it into the Jumna River, 
and put me in irons, figuratively speaking. But why 
be captor to a mass of marble? It is more than marble. 
It is the embodiment of thought. 

Speaking of the scene Ferguson said : "Full of the 
dome and mausoleum, we were not prepared for the splen- 
dor of the approach, the magnificently-ornamented gate- 
way of red sandstone, filled in with inscriptions from 
the Koran in white marble, and surmounted by twenty- 
six cupolas. Then there is the exquisite setting of Taj 
structure in a garden of greenery, fountains, and ex- 
panses of water, bounded by marble walls and terraces, 
with an avenue of cypress trees, beyond which are flower- 
beds and lawns surrounded- by great palms and a va- 
riety of flowering trees, shrubs, and pot-plants, display- 
ing many varieties of chrysanthemums and beds of 
violets. All are kept in the best of order by the govern- 
ment. The whole quadrangle is inclosed by lofty sand- 
stone walls on three sides, the Jumna River forming 
the fourth. The contrast between dull red sandstone, 
the abounding greenery, the glistening waters, and the 
pearly gray or creamy white of the mausoleum has to 
be seen and felt rather than described." 

Advancing beyond this garden of beauty to the mar- 
ble terrace more than three hundred feet square, the mar- 
ble pile is reached. Decorations abound, inlaid with 
preciouj stones, such as jasper, carnelian, turquoise, gar- 
nets, crystal, agate, coral, sapphires, onyx, and diamonds. 
The guide grows eloquent as he describes the wealth ob- 
servable on all sides. The marble tombs are literally 



I^O Around the World. 

ablaze with costly jewels. The walls, domes, minarets, 
halls, arcades — in fact, everything, bristles with inlaid 
work costing untold sums. I am told that twenty thou- 
sand workmen were employed seventeen years in build- 
ing. An old manuscript states that the head master- 
builder was secured in Persia, and the master mason 
came from Babylon, each receiving a salary of 1,000 
rupees a month. Expert workmen came from the utter- 
most parts of the known world. The white marble came 
from Jeypore ; the yellow from alongside the river Ner- 
budda, costing forty rupees per square yard; the black 
marble came from Charkot; crystal from China; tur- 
quoise from Tibet ; agate from Yemen ; lapis-lazuli from 
Ceylon, costing 1,156 rupees per square yard; coral from 
the Red Sea ; garnets and diamonds from Bundelkund ; 
onyx and amethist from Persia; sapphires from Ceylon; 
and one hundred and fourteen thousand cart-loads of 
red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri. Many other precious 
stones were also used in the inlaying of the flowers, which 
have no name in our language. The cost is estimated at 
32,000,000 rupees, not counting the labor of the thousands 
of workmen, whose labor was not paid for or even com- 
puted. When the Taj was completed, its builder, Shah 
Jehan, proposed to build another one of black marble 
across the river for himself and connect the two by bridge ; 
but he had so impoverished his vast kingdom in complet- 
ing this one that he was deemed unfit to govern, and was 
deposed. 

Space forbids further Agra data ; hence I hasten to this 
city, Delhi, whose history dates back to the time of 
Joshua. It is also on the Jumna River, one hundred and 
thirteen miles north from Agra, and nearly one thousand 
miles north and west of Calcutta. This city has been the 
foot-ball of kings, having been built and destroyed about 



Lucknow to Delhi. 



19: 



as many times as Jerusalem. The city now numbers over 
two hundred thousand, but is only a remnant of its former 
glory. Once it covered an additional forty-five square 
miles, a fact evidenced by the ruins scattered for eighteen 
miles out into the country. The city has occupied five 
sites during the past five thousand years. Two miles out 
I visited one of the old sites dating 320 years B. C. I 
climbed to the top of an old palace or citadel, upon whose 
summit still stands a huge monolith (solid rock) rising 
forty-two feet in the air and extending thirteen feet into 
the building. The shaft is imbedded in the building 
at least fifty feet above the level of the ground, and being 
fifty-five feet in length (forty-two feet above and thirteen 
feet in the building), its summit reaches ninety-two feet 
above the level. How that solid piece of rock was trans- 
ported from the Himalaya Mountains and erected in its 
present position is an enigma of history. It is a question 
whether there is any machinery of this advanced day 
sufficiently powerful to even lift that shaft, not bringing 
into account its transportation from the mountains of 
eternal snow and its erection where it now bids defiance 
to the ravages of time. 

When I contemplate the scenes presented by Delhi 
and its environs, I feel like throwing my pen into the 
Jumna and my articles into the wastebasket, as no words 
can do justice to the situation. Here the inlaid work in 
the Hall of Private Audience surpasses that of Agra's 
palace within the fort. The "baths" here surpass those 
of Agra to which I paid particular compliments. To re- 
lieve myself somewhat of being accused of using extrav- 
agant language, I clip the following pointed extract from 
the guide in an attempt to pay tribute to Delhi : 

"The walls, which are between five and six miles in 
extent, inclose the palace or fort, the Juma Musjid, the 



192 



Around the World. 



railway station, the military cantonments and the famous 
Chaudni Chauk. The palace is on the east of the city, 
and is in the form of a parallelogram, one thousand six 
hundred feet east and west, and three thousand two hun- 
dred feet north and south. The Diwani-Kas, or Private 
Hall of Audience, sometimes called Privy Council Cham- 
ber, is a long hall supported by exquisitely decorated 
pillars. It stands on the east of the fort, overhanging the 
river, and is unique in the perception of its rich and ar- 
tistic design, which renders it the most elegant hall in the 
world. The splendid tomb of the Emperor Humayun, 
the father of Akbar, which is two miles from the town ; 
the stately Juma Musjid, opposite the fort; the Kutab 
mosque, ten miles south of the city, with its graceful col- 
onnade of beautifully-sculptured Hindu pillars ; and the 
adjoining Kutab Minor, the tallest minaret or pillar in 
the world, being two hundred and thirty-eight feet in 
height, rising from a base having a diameter of forty- 
seven to forty-nine feet at its summit, are among what 
have been fitly termed 'the many architectural glories of 
Delhi.' " 

In the mutiny of 1857 more British soldiers were 
killed at Delhi than in the campaigns about Lucknow, 
Cawnpore, and Agra. One mile northwest of the Mori 
gate is the historic ridge where the most severe fighting" 
occurred. It was a case of nine thousand British against 
forty thousand armed Sepoys, who had one hundred and 
fourteen heavy cannon, besides an abundance of stores. 
No other soldiers under the Union Jack ever fought 
against greater odds or achieved for England a greater 
victory. 

Within the fort are the palace halls and Pearl Mosque. 
Referring to this scene in her book, "On the Face of the 
Waters," Mrs. Steele speaks of four "rose-red fortress 



Lucknow to Delhi 193 

walls hemming in a few acres of earth, where the last 
of the Mogul emperors, in 1857, still dreamed a dream 
of power among the golden domes, marble colonnades, 
and green gardens with which his ancestors had crowned 
the eastern wall." Further mention is made of "a cool, 
breezy world of white and gold and blue, clasping a gar- 
den set with flowers and fruit, with blue sky, white mar- 
ble colonnades, and golden domes, vaulting and zoning 
the burnished leaves of the orange-trees, where the green 
fruit hung like emaralds above a tangle of roses and 
marigolds, chrysanthemums and crimson amaranth." A 
noted poet, visiting this scene, could command only eleven 
words in describing it : 

"If on earth, be an Eden of bliss, 
It is this, it is this, it is this." 

The peacock throne which once graced this building 
was removed to Persia by its king when he invaded In- 
dia in 1739 and captured Delhi. That throne is said to 
have cost $30,000,000. The stand upon which it rested 
is still in its old place, and was used as a tea-table during 
the festivities attending the Durbar. I ascended the 
throne where the ancient kings were accustomed to hold 
court and receive the diplomats of foreign powers. The 
throne is of marble, having birds, animals, and flowers 
inlaid with precious jewels, rare and costly. Milton had 
in mind a scene less gorgeous than this when he wrote : 

High on a throne of royalty which far 
Outshone the wealth of Ormuz and of Ind, 
Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand 
Showers on her king barbaric pearl and gold." 

It was at Delhi that the Durbar was held formally 
proclaiming Edward VII Emperor of India. Lord Cur- 
zon and the colonial secretary planned the big fair and 
13 



194 



Around the World. 



are now receiving the plaudits of the world for the success 
of the undertaking. Arriving after the Durbar was over, 
I had a better opportunity to see many of the exhibits 
than if I had been present while the unwieldy crowd was 
in the city. Rents soared beyond all reason. A cottage 
that formerly rented at thirty rupees a month brought 
i, 600 rupees a month during the Durbar season. Some 
were forced to pay from thirty to sixty rupees a day 
to stay in a tent. The places of interest were so far apart 
that many were unable to get about on account of the 
scarcity of carriages, which, when available, cost five 
rupees an hour. At least forty-five thousand British 
troops were present, some having marched from such 
a distance that they were almost five months in coming, 
and will require the same time to return, utilizing nearly 
a year to make a show at the event of a century. In 
the parade were six hundred elephants, besides camels 
and horses by the thousand. The Indian museum and art 
exhibit remains, and is visited by thousands who were 
unable to see it during the rush. To catalogue or describe 
it would require a volume. I saw one elephant tusk 
carved throughout with Indian history scenes, that sold 
for 1,000 rupees ($320.) 



XIV. 
DELHI TO BOMBAY. 

JEYPORE, THE MOST INTERESTING CITY IN INDIA A RA- 
JAH WITH FOUR THOUSAND AND FIVE WIVES — THE 
FINEST DEPOT IN THE WORED — TOWER OF SILENCE — 
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS — ASIATIC BARBERS — THE MISSION 
PROBLEM. 

Having spent two days at Delhi, I next visited Jey- 
pore, one hundred and ninety-one miles to the southwest. 
This city, often spelled Jaipur or Jeypur, is mentioned by 
the guide as "the most interesting city in India," but it 
did not appear thus to me. Immediately after arriving 
I sent application to the resident requesting the privilege 
of visiting the palace of the rajah and the old deserted 
city of Amber, seven miles away, which was granted, the 
rajah, or native prince, providing an elephant from his 
stable for the trip up the hill to the old city gate. The 
resident is a British appointed official, who acts conjointly 
with the rajah. 

Amber was the capital up to 1728, but was then aban- 
doned for the new city, Jeypore, which now boasts of one 
hundred and fifty thousand people, surrounded by a wall 
of red sandstone, entered by seven gates. On the streets 
a motley crowd is everywhere to be seen. The visitor 
is shown the school of art, carpet-weavers, brass-workers, 
and the palace of the rajah, where his five wives keep 
each other company, and keep his buttons firmly sewed 

195 



Iq6 Around the World. 

by calling the assistance of as many of his four thousand 
extra wives or women slaves as occasion may demand. 
How slighted the ordinary batchelor must feel when he 
learns that one man in India can boast of four thousand 
and five wives ! The Wind Palace at Jeypore, over which 
many visitors go wild with delight, was rather tame, to 
my notion, after seeing the beauties of Delhi and Agra. A 
glimpse at the embattlements of the old, ruined, deserted 
city of Amber was sufficient for me. but the large col- 
lection of tigers in that city interested me. My passing 
the bars in front of the largest one, which is said to have 
killed ten men, caused him as well as others to leap 
against the large iron bars with screams that reminded 
me of the North Pacific storm and my thousand wildcats 
in a fight to the finish as they were molested by a dozen 
rattling runaway freight-trains accompanied by as many 
cyclones in collision. 

Street life in Jeypore as well as in any other Indian 
city finds a counterpart in these words of Sir Edwin 
Arnold : 

" Forth fared they by common way afoot, 
Seeing the glad and sad things of the town : — 
The painted streets alive with hum of noon ; 
The traders cross-legged mid their spice and grain ; 
The buyers with their money in their cloth ; 
The war of words to cheapen this or that ; 
The shout to clear the roads, the huge stone wheels ; 
The strong slow oxen and their rusting loads ; 
The singing bearers with their palanquins ; 
The broad-necked camels sweating in the sun ; 
The housewives bearing water from the well 
With balanced chatties, and athwart their hips 
The black-eyed babes ; the fly-swarmed sweetmeat shop ; 
The weaver at his loom, the cotton bow 
Twanging, the mill stones grinding meal, the dogs 
Prowling for orts. . . . 



Delhi to Bombay. 197 

Here a throng 
Gathered to watch some chattering snaketamer 
Wind around his wrist the living jewelry 
Of asp and nag, or charm the hooded death 
To angry dance to drone of beaded gourd ; 
There a long time of drums and gourds, which went, 
With steeds gay painted and silk canopies, 
To bring the young bride home ; and here a wife 
Stealing with cakes and garlands to the god, 
To pray her husband's safe return from trade, 
Or beg a boy next birth ; hard by the booths, 
Where the swart potters beat the noisy brass 
For lamps and lotas ; then by temple walls 
And gateways, to the river." 

I was glad to leave Jeypore and begin the seven-hun- 
dred-mile trip to Bombay, where I could rest and do as 
I liked until the day of sailing for Port Said. 

Bombay is a great city of about one million souls. 
Its depot is built like a palace, and my friends say that 
it is the finest depot in the -world. Why men will stack 
up so much cash in such a structure is another wonder 
of the world. 

The Parsees do not bury their dead, as the earth is 
sacred ; they do not bury in the sea, for the water is 
sacred ; they do not cremate, for fire is sacred ; hence they 
expose their dead within stone walls, where the vultures 
of the air can easily find them. These stone inclosures are 
called "Towers of Silence." I visited them one morning, 
and saw hundreds, and probably thousands, of vultures 
wheeling about through the air, having filled themselves 
on human flesh, and were waiting until hungry again 
for another meal. Some visitors standing by a tree said 
they saw a vulture drop a little child's arm near them, 
and others assert that fingers and other bits of flesh are 
often found on the streets of Bombay. Under such cir- 
cumstances it is no wonder that the plague abounds, tak- 



iq8 Around the World. 

ing off from one hundred and fifty to two hundred daily 
in this city alone. 

A large brick building is being erected on one of the 
principal streets, and all the hodcarriers are women. But 
all the women have to do is to carry the brick and mortar 
to the top of the building, and the men up there do the 
work. 

I think it would be wise to keep the lepers off the 
streets. They are everywhere, with toes and fingers gone 
— a horrid sight. One grabbed a man by the hands on 
the street the other day, and he hastened home for a bath, 
and was so excited that he took three baths before quiet 
prevailed in his accelerated heart. 

A trip to the Bombay markets is not without interest. 
Parrots and monkeys are for sale at from one to three 
rupees (32 cents to 96 cents) each. 

I think I am safe in stating that I saw thousands of 
monkeys of all ages in the trees near Jeypore and along 
the railroad from Jeypore to Bombay. Camel ranches 
were noticed, where those ugly brutes appeared to be 
as plentiful as sheep or cattle on the Western prairies. 
Camels sell for $50 to $150. It was not a rare sight 
to see a man riding an elephant to town, doubtless to 
bring home a needle or some thread for his wife in name, 
but slave in fact. Deer and antelope were seen frequently. 
Some were very tame, and were not frightened by the 
rapidly-approaching train, while others stood for a time, 
then bounded away like bouncing bullets, as if on their 
way around the world and wanted to finish the tour by 
day after to-morrow. 

The barbers of Asia are a fright. A few of them have 
shops with modern equipment, but they are scarce. The 
average barber goes about from house to house, from 
hotel to hotel, soliciting as many merchants do in America. 



Delhi to Bombay. I no 

I arrived in Agra at night, went to the Great Northern 
Hotel, and was awakened in the morning by a rap at the 
door. I opened the door to learn the cause of the alarm. 
A man stood without who pronounced, in gentle tones, 
the word, "barber." Recognizing by past experience 
that he desired to perform an operation on my face, I 
replied, "Can you give me a good shave?" He answered, 
"Yes, I shave all the gentlemen." I explained to him 
that the barbers thus far around this terrestrial ball con- 
sidered that it was no vacation or picnic to shave me, 
yet he argued that he was an expert at the craft, and de- 
sired to undertake the operation for four annas (eight 
cents), the regulation price. I bade him enter. He had 
a coolie outside with a small stove to provide hot water. 
Bringing in a supply, he was ready. In my pajamas, T 
sat upright in an ordinary chair, such as may be found 
in any sleeping-room of any hotel. He lathered for 
about a minute, then pulled from a bag of razors sus- 
pended under his left arm an old saw of a knife that 
might have been through the massacre of 1857, and began 
butchering. The first stroke impressed me that he had 
doubtless dressed many a hog, notwithstanding the fact 
that he was either a Hindu or a Mohammedan. He wore 
a long black coat in Prince Albert style, a white sash 
about his waist and shoulder, a pair of spectacles, and a 
turban. His left sleeve was rolled back so he could use 
his naked arm and wrist as a depot for the lather knifed 
from my face. After enduring agony untold, I was re- 
lieved in a condition approaching that of the slaughter- 
block observed in the monkey temple in Benares, where 
one goat is slain each week as an offering to the monkey 
god. I judged that he ought to be fairly good in order 
to get work at such a hotel, but was sadly disappointed. 
He used no towel, nothing except his razors and lather 



2oo Around the World. 

brush. As I showed evidences of mutiny, he sent the 
razor to its little home in the sack, and drew forth an- 
other even more ancient. As he left the door he said, 
"Come back to-morrow morning ?" I replied, "You could 
not give me another shave," and I am sure he could not, 
for another such a grubbing and I would not have enough 
face left to make it worth while entering or asking credit 
at a barber-shop. As I sat, with gritting teeth and nerves 
as unsettled as the clicking telegraph, I saw or seemed 
to see every American barber with whom I had enjoyed 
pleasant moments during the past five years. Before the 
mirror of memory they marched with their splendid equip- 
ment, each one repeating the oft-heard and pleasant- 
sounding word, "next," while I was next only to dis- 
traction. Taking a look into the glass, I discovered 
patches untouched as large as silver rupees. I was able 
to recognize myself, however, after recalling the name 
under which I had registered at the hotel the evening 
before. Barbers may be seen shaving their customers 
under trees on the sidewalk (where there are any), in 
the middle of the street, on ox-carts, and, in fact, every- 
where. 

The marriage customs of India are no less freakish 
than those of Japan and China. I shall be brief, as there 
would not be space to describe them in every province. 
In one province to the northwest of Bombay, marriages 
occur only on one day in every eleven years. On that 
day every single person must get married who is between 
eleven days and eleven years old. If there are more girls 
than boys, the parents are forced to go into other prov- 
inces in order to secure the cumpulsory husbands, and 
vice versa in the case of an excess of boys. It is an awful 
disgrace not to be married in India, as it is taught in some 
sections that an unmarried lady is inelligible to the Hindu 



Delhi to Bombay. 201 

heaven. Some teach that every man is lost who has no 
son to build his funeral pyre and preside at the cremation. 
This accounts, in a great measure, for the demand for 
sons. Official reports show that one province has four 
hundred widows less than one year old. 

My friend, the Rev. L. E. Linzell, a college mate in the 
Ohio Wesleyan University, now pastor at Bombay, at- 
tended a Hindu wedding last week. The young people 
were blindfolded until the ceremony was over, they hav- 
ing never seen each other until they became man and 
wife. A part of the ceremony consists of bringing them 
face to face and of tying their hands together with a silk 
thread. The covering was then removed, and they looked 
each other in the face for the first time; and what a 
shock it must have been to both, as it meant love at first 
sight! Love at first sight may not be so bad after all. 
Robert Burns wrote: 

" But to see her were to love her, 
Love but her, and love forever." . 

Shakespeare is of a different opinion, for he suggests 
that one ought to be so well pleased with the one of 
his choice that, for love's sake only, he should heartily say : 

" She is mine own. 
And I as rich in having such a jewel 
As twenty seas, if all their sands were pearls, 
The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold." 

Tennyson believed that love ought to be the underly- 
ing motive, even if one does not gain the object of his 
love, for, 

" 'T is better to have loved and lost 
Than not to have loved at all." 

I can safely venture the assertion that love plays 
no part in the Indian marriage, because the system in 



202 Around the World. 

vogue would require one to love a person who had never 
been seen. 

My Indian tour as first planned embraced three thou- 
sand miles, but I have kept adding to it until the actual 
distance covered by train aggregates three thousand four 
hundred and eighty miles, a distance that, if applied to 
America, would reach not only from New York to San 
Francisco, but would also extend to a point farther out 
in the Pacific Ocean than the fastest ocean greyhound 
could reach in a day's travel. 

I entered India three weeks ago at its southernmost 
port, dressed according to the custom of equatorial cities, 
and traveled so far northward that I was compelled to 
do what I had never done before — draft into use two 
suits of heavy underclothing and a "Frost King" chamois 
vest, besides a light suit of underwear and the heaviest 
suit of clothes that I had ever worn, together with a 
heavy overcoat and three pairs of stockings, and still 
I shivered with the biting cold that seemed to sweep down 
from the eternal snows of the Himalayas. 

One can scarcely imagine the extent of this country, 
supporting a quarter of a billion of people, without 
giving it a personal encounter as I have done. A country 
that requires Great Britain to maintain two hundred and 
twenty-five thousand soldiers, in order to control it, is 
no small concern on the back alley of nations. If some 
chieftan should come forth with sufficient organizing 
power to unify India and China, with their more than 
half a billion people, against the world, the kingdoms of 
earth would be reduced to a scrap-heap. He who asserts 
that the Indians can not fight is talking against time. 
The British officers say, and I have interviewed a dozen 
of them, that the natives as they are now trained fight 
like demons. 



Delhi to Bombay. 203 

Among the many surprises that have come to my 
notice is that of the American commercial invasion of 
Asia. As I wrote the last sentence, the afternoon tea, 
served at four o'clock throughout Asia, was brought to 
my desk, and with it were crackers bearing the Amer- 
ican stamp in large letters. Every conceivable kind of 
American goods is on sale almost everywhere. The 
American Trading Company, the North American Trad- 
ing Company, and the Chinese-American Trading Com- 
pany are the largest concerns, supplying the local dealers 
in Asia with offices and storerooms in the larger cities. 
They are so firmly intrenched in Shanghai and Hong- 
Kong that the British firms are wondering what the re- 
sult of the invasion will be. I have interviewed and 
been interviewed by many a subject of His Majesty, 
King Edward, and every one is absolutely amazed at the 
almost limitless resources of America, and all prophesy 
tremendous development in the future if we keep level- 
headed men in power. I have been in company with a 
British major who was in the campaign against Peking. 
He spent his leisure time among the American soldiers, 
and is verbose in his compliments upon the American 
government, because he says it pays its soldiers better 
and also gives them a much more liberal allowance and 
greater variety of food than the British government al- 
lows its warriors. The more I see ourselves as others 
see us, the prouder I become that I am an American. 

Great Britain deserves commendation for the inter- 
est she manifests in providing for the famine sufferers, 
having at present six hundred thousand pounds toward 
a permanent fund for their relief, and at present only 
twenty-two thousand five hundred people needing help 
from the fund on account of famine. I saw several of 



204 Around the World. 

the rescued who had been eating mud and roots and 
leaves. 

At Agra I addressed the students of the Female Med- 
ical College, where the same course is pursued as in 
America, using the same English text-books. 

As men are not allowed to enter the homes of the 
high-caste Hindus, lady physicians are an absolute neces- 
sity, though they are a modern God-send to those hermit 
women. One glimpse at my audience at Agra would 
knock all objections to the mission problem higher than 
Gilroy's kite. 

The steamship Britannia, of the Anchor Line, is al- 
most ready to sail for Liverpool, and I am ready to leave 
India ; but I leave with the argosy of memory laden 
deck-deep with scenes that can never be eradicated, and 
I insist upon leaving as a parting salute the testimony 
that, if I had all the gold of all the world at my command, 
I would gladly offer it as a sacrifice for the emancipa- 
tion of India's millions. 



XV. 

BOMBAY TO PORT SAID. 

THE OCEAN VOYAGE — RED SEA — HEAVY SEAS — PREACHING 
ABOARD A ROLLING AND PITCHING SHIP — THE HOLY 

MOUNTAIN TRADITIONAL CROSSING OP ISRAELITES — 

THREADING THE SUEZ CANAL QUARANTINED — PORT 

SAID. 

Having spent three eventful weeks in India, I walked 
the gangplank from the pier to the British steamship 
Britannia, of the Anchor Line, glad that a much-needed 
rest awaited me. The measles, cholera, and plague had 
been decimating the ranks of India's population by leaps 
and bounds. In Bombay, the day previous to my depart- 
ure, more than two hundred persons fell before the 
plague's onslaught. They fell in the streets, in the 
shops, everywhere. More than one hundred thousand 
died of the plague in India during my visit. A medical 
examination was required before I was allowed to board 
the vessel. The doctor simply felt my pulse and wrote 
out the pass. The ship's crew was lined up like a regi- 
ment of soldiers and examined, as the management of 
the vessel did not desire plague symptoms aboard ship. 
But the plague is often sudden in its work, striking down 
its victims with little or no warning. When a few miles 
out, our special pilot left us to make the journey the best 
we could, and, tiffin being over, I stretched out upon the 
couch in my cabin and rested my weary bones. To go 

205 



206 Around the World. 

back to a time when I was more tired, weary, and worth- 
less in body and spirit baffled recollection. In such a 
condition no sleeping-powder was necessary to drive 
away the thoughts usually uppermost when beginning a 
long sea voyage, but to sleep I went like a flash. All 
cares vanished; my troubles were over. The sea might 
roll to mountain heights, but for me the sea and the 
world were as dead. At 3.30 I was awakened by the 
cabin boy, who announced that the afternoon tea was 
ready. Welcome words were they, though I had to be 
disturbed while recuperating at a marvelous rate. 

Of all the beautiful sunsets observed on the sea, the 
most remarkable occurred the first evening out from 
Bombay. As the beam in the bow of the ship was alter- 
nately pointing heavenward or evidently trying to har- 
poon sharks in the sea, my attention was arrested by 
the radiance tinting the sky by the descending sun as it 
was about to drop into the billowy deep. So firmly were 
my eyes fixed and so completely was I captured by the 
phenomena that I forgot for the time being where I was, 
when suddenly there was a crashing swish-swash on the 
opposite side of the ship. Forcing myself to abandon 
the sight of that enchanting sunset, I turned and saw the 
sea in a mad rush over the upper deck toward my station. 
Without taking a moment's time to think about what to 
do or to philosophize over the situation, my muscles acted 
half involuntarily and I found myself that moment climb- 
ing the railings — the very thing that one ought not to 
do. I was out of reach of the rush just in time to pre- 
vent a soaking and came out of it with only a few splashes. 
After that episode I withdrew to safer quarters, and con- 
cluded that life was worth more than all the Indian sun- 
sets that ever gilded an Oriental sky. Whatever else you 
do, do n't climb the railing as I did, for one lurch of the 



Bombay to Port Said. 207 

ship might jerk you from the rail and present you as 
dessert for the tiger-like, man-killing sharks. This ship 
was built to run low in the water, and, besides this nat- 
ural tendency to hide herself in the waves, she is laden 
with four thousand tons of freight in excess of her reg- 
istered capacity which sinks her to where 

" Nothing but a speck we seem 
In the waste of waters round, 
Floating, floating like a dream." 

Six days pass. Aden is left to the right, and we are 
in the Red Sea. For weeks I had been told that the pleas- 
antest kind of sailing would be experienced in this land- 
locked body of water. My hopes were high, but were 
brought down to the level the second day spent in this 
long, lean body of water. It is 1,308 miles from Aden 
to Suez, and if the weather keeps up its present gyra- 
tions, I judge that we will be thirteen days in making 
the voyage from Bombay to Port Said. You can not 
see land on either side — and this is the Red Sea. I 
would call it an angry, bloodthirsty, heartless ocean. But 
it is not the fault of the water. The wind is what creates 
the mischief. Far to the north and west, a lowering cloud, 
spreading in the shape of a crescent from Arabia to 
Africa's shore, bore down upon us. As it came it showed 
unquestioned signs of having an evil eye, or being on 
mischief bent. Soon the waves began to rise and to 
chase each other toward our innocent good ship, which 
could not escape either by turning back or by driving 
for the shore. We were in a bootleg or up a tree, so to 
speak, and there was nothing left to be done but to take 
our medicine and trust to Providence. In due time our 
ship was jumping the hurdles in true and ancient fashion. 
As the bow went under, and as the stern kicked high in 
air, the mind wandered back to those pictures I had often 



2o8 Around the World. 

seen hanging upon walls in many a home representing a 
ship on the ocean with decks level and the waves only 
a few feet in height. But when I return, if ever I do, 
I shall prepare specifications for a painting presenting a 
scene altogether different. It will present a steamship 
with her head or prow raised aloft on a mountain of 
water as if she were a gigantic mastodon climbing up an 
oceanic Pike's Peak. I would have her half covered 
with boiling, raging, booming water. I would have her 
bridge half out of vision's reach, and her officer lashed 
in his position with rope by the wheel. I would paint 
the elements in battle with the monster, driving her out- 
rolling smoke back upon the ship, and burying it in 
spray. I would place a light near the tops of the huge, 
sloping mast fore and aft. I would demand that the sea- 
gulls have a place as they wheel in a meandering, lost 
condition, fighting with all their strength against the 
boisterous, raging storm. I would paint the blackest 
sky in the background, and face the scene with rays 
of light breaking through a gently receding canopy, 
prophesying that daylight is approaching and the triumph 
of the king of day, the most welcome sight that ever 
greets a sailor after a storm-tossed night. 

The storm began yesterday, and still rages. All 
night long it worried the crew ; not mentioning the pas- 
sengers. During breakfast this morning, the sea came 
on board without a ticket, ran five feet deep over the 
upper deck, lashed itself against the dining-saloon, and 
finding portholes open (portholes being five feet above 
the upper deck) jumped in upon the table and piano 
without making the semblance of an apology or begging 
any one's pardon. At another time the chief engineer 
and two other members of the crew, while crossing the 
upper deck, were given a free bath, but happily were not 



Bombay to Port Said. 209 

washed overboard. A lifeboat hangs out, ready to be 
used at a moment's notice if any one should go overboard, 
but a person overboard would not have "a ghost of a 
chance" to say his prayers again. I crossed the bridge 
with the captain to-day (February 9th), and he clung to 
the railing all the way to keep from being jerked to where 
the boiling waters flow. 

All the passengers excepting myself are British, sev- 
eral being British army officers. They are naturally 
pious, or, on account of the weather, appear so, as they 
spoke to me on Saturday about wanting me to preach 
on Sunday. It is the duty of the purser and captain to 
provide for the Sunday service, which they did. I never 
saw a lot of passengers so eager to have services before. 
But their solicitation was manifested before the storm, 
which is a redeeming feature. A lady returning home 
from Madras to Liverpool was pianist; a gentleman from 
Glasgow led the singing, and a more attentive audience 
I had scarcely met in any neck of the world's woods. No 
better place to preach can be imagined than on the sea, 
and especially the Red Sea. A splendid sea was rolling, 
and every sinner knew, from the way the water drove 
across the deck, that if the hatches should be open or 
crushed we would all quickly join Pharaoh's historic 
host, and soon be scattered among his old chariot-wheels 
on the bottom of the sea. As I came down on the home 
stretch at no less than one hundred and seven miles an 
hour, every eye was riveted upon me in a way that would 
make one vain if listened to as attentively in the States. 
My forty-five days' experience on the deep had given to 
me my sea-legs, which came quite handy on this occa- 
sion, as the physical qualifications demanded under these 
circumstances are not unlike those that would be required 
of one who would undertake to preach while riding a 
14 



2IO Around the World. 

pair of horses in a hippodrome, provided, however, that 
you run one horse about half a gallop ahead of the other 
in your imagination to secure the rolling effect, and both 
over hurdles at convenient distances for the pitching. 

Another day and night pass. The sun rises to our 
right, and sees us still pitching, though the most of the 
rolling has ceased, and we are hopeful that the sea will 
begin to behave before nightfall, as it is not pleasant 
trying to sleep with one's feet pointing toward the con- 
stellation of Hercules one moment, and the next moment 
have them drive in a bee-line for the place towards which 
bad men are bound. While this seesaw continues for a 
few days, one wishes for some secluded spot where he 
can stand on his head for a while, have it over, then settle 
down to well-earned quiet ; but such an opportunity is 
entirely out of the question here. And — just think of it 
— there is a lady on board just out of her teens, with a 
babe four months old. When its melodious voice has 
entertained me until I don't jump overboard, I stroll 
down to the forecastle, where the chickens, ducks, and 
sheep are penned awaiting slaughter, and observe their 
number gradually growing less each day; and I always 
feel especially sorry for the ducks, which might swim 
ashore if the ship should sink, but can not .on account of 
being cooped securely. Poor ducks ! Their fate is sealed 
against the least glimmer of hope, while the chickens 
and sheep knew their time was limited as soon as they 
stepped on board at Bombay. To diverge, I must say 
that boy has a right to his own opinions, however, and 
should be allowed to express them as he was not con- 
sulted about taking this voyage. Our stewardess occu- 
pies her entire time in an endeavor to amuse the boy 
while the mother longs for the sight of land. 

Yesterday (February ioth) I passed my thirty-second 



Bombay to Port Said. 211 

milestone, and feel much younger to-day as the weather 
is sobering; in fact, it is so much improved that one can 
step out on the promenade deck without taking an unex- 
pected forced bath. 

I admire this vessel. It never murmurs, even when 
pounded, cuffed, and beaten unmercifully. The captain 
is proud of her. He asserts that he once took her into 
New York with her bridge swept away and so disabled 
that total wreck could be fittingly used in his report. 
She was made over, refitted, and now asks no quarter 
in any storm, but drives bravely with brave officers into 
the thickest of the fight. Some day she will embark on 
her last trip, and it may be that her hulk will lie on the 
rocks, an object of pity such as is presented by the P. & 
O. ship that met her fate in the Red Sea some time ago, 
and now sleeps that long sleep that knows no waking, 
with her ribs protruding above water-level, a marine 
corpse. 

The captain tells the story of this ship's collision 
with another ship in the Suez Canal that is quite laugh- 
able, even if it is at the expense of an American passen- 
ger. As soon as the crash came, this passenger, seeing 
that no efforts to lower the lifeboats were being made, 
rushed up to the captain, threw his arms around the 
captain's neck, and shouted : "Are you not going to get 
out the lifeboats ? Are you going to let the ship go down 
and let us all drown here?" The captain could do no 
more than laugh, for the keel of the vessel was within 
one or two feet of the ground from one end of the canal 
to the other, and at that time was actually in the mud so 
that sinking was impossible. No vessel drawing more 
than twenty-six feet four inches can pass through the 
canal. If one presents itself sunk to a greater depth, a 
part of its cargo is removed and carried through on 



212 Around the World. 

lighters. It is very expensive to secure the privilege of 
steaming a ship through the Suez, and still not so ex- 
pensive as to round the Cape of Good Hope. A vessel 
carrying ten thousand tons of cargo must pay canal dues 
aggregating $6,400 for navigating this artificial channel 
eighty-eight nautical miles in length. The traffic being 
extensive, this great engineering project is a very paying 
investment, the British owning the greater part of the 
stock. 

The British that I have met criticise the Panama Canal 
project of the Americans chiefly on the ground (I infer) 
that any great undertaking to be successful must have 
Great Britain back of it. A little starch is taken out 
of their braggadocio, pompous stateliness when a person 
reminds them of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and 
a few other kindred events. I have not met a British 
officer who has not raged and stormed over America's 
leniency and kindness manifested toward the Filipinos. 
They say we handle them with gloves when we ought 
to give them the bayonet. I think they could not pay 
America a higher compliment, and I can see that they 
are sore because we have treated our wards so much 
better than they have treated theirs. 

The first officer came this morning to invite me on 
the bridge and show me peaks flanking Mount Horeb 
and Mount Sinai, which are often mentioned as one 
mountain. He also pointed out the point supposed to be 
the site of Pharaoh's disaster and the triumph of Moses. 
The sea is very narrow here, not over seven miles wide 
I judge, and the holy mountain region is in plain view, 
the rising sun giving it a clear outline. There are sev- 
eral reasons why this point is selected as the historical 
site of the crossing The sea is very narrow and shallow 
here; it is just between the wilderness of Egypt and 



Bombay to Port Said. 213 

Mount Horeb. Exodus iii, I, reads : "Now Moses kept 
the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, 
and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and 
came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." Since 
Moses was doubtless familiar with every nook and cor- 
ner in the valleys about Horeb, and from Horeb to the 
east and north, it is reasonable to suppose that he, as a 
good guide, if permitted to choose the way, would lead 
his people over the route he knew best. It was here that 
the angel appeared to Moses "in a flame of fire, out of 
the midst of a bush," and here God gave him his com- 
mission to lead the oppressed children of Israel out of 
Egypt into the Promised Land. In Exodus xvii, 6, we 
are informed that here Moses smote the rock and thereby 
tapped a stream, providing water for the thirsty Israel- 
ites. In xxiii, 6, finding that some adornments were use- 
less, Moses states that "the children of Israel stripped 
themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb." In 
Deuteronomy i, 6-8, information is on file that the Israel- 
ites loafed about this very section, which I now behold, 
quite long enough, for it reads : "The Lord our God 
spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long 
enough in this mount. Behold, I have set the land be- 
fore you. Go in and possess the land which the Lord 
swore unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." 
But they loafed on for forty years when they should have 
done better. They have their followers to-day in those 
who are satisfied when the Red Sea is crossed, not caring 
to make progress for the better things God has in store 
for the persevering. Not only was this mountain made 
sacred by the giving of the law on its summit, but it 
takes further high ground in history also, because here 
Moses spent two terms of forty days each, and Elijah 



214 Around the World. 

went into hiding in one of Horeb's caves because the 
children of Israel had become anarchists. 

Last night the lights of Suez rose above the water 
and made all feel glad. A medical examination being re- 
quired before we were allowed to enter the canal, we cast 
anchor and awaited the morning. At six o'clock this 
morning we were surrounded with boats of every descrip- 
tion. Over the sides of the ship the Egyptians poured 
like an avalanche, each with something to sell. There 
were cigars, cigarettes, tobacco, illustrated post-cards, 
views, fancy work, beads, shells, olive-wood said to have 
been carved in Jerusalem, ivory ware, eggs, tomatoes, 
money-changers, and many other things, some of which 
have no name in our language. The medical examina- 
tion over and the necessary business with the canal au- 
thorities transacted, we steamed into the thoroughfare 
connecting the East and West. Buoys floated on both 
sides of the canal, and between them the ship drove, 
as the water is too shallow outside the buoys. A few 
miles out from Suez we passed several large ships laden 
with thousands of tons of cargo for the Far East. For 
some reason unknown to me the other ships were tied 
up — fastened close to the banks with ropes, so we could 
pass with unslackened speed. It is a strange sight to 
see a huge ship making her way across the prairie or 
desert upon a narrow ribbon of water, whereas we had 
formerly been used to comparing these ducks of the deep 
with the boundless ocean. 

Suez is historic on account of the many nationalities 
who have, each in turn, here had a footing. First of 
all the Egyptians occupied the site ; then the Israelites, 
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabians, Turks, Vene- 
tians, Portuguese, Italians, French, and English. Suez 
has about fifteen thousand inhabitants, and is supplied 



Bombay to Port Said. 215 

with fresh water by means of a canal from the Nile 
River. 

Pharaoh Necho undertook to build a canal from the 
Nile about 610 B. C, but it was a failure. Trajan was 
more determined, his efforts being crowned with success. 
Doubtless he profited by Pharaoh's mistakes. One 
thing is sure, and that is that M. de Tesseps improved 
upon the ideas advanced by both Pharaoh and Trajan, 
and scored a triumph which places him among men of 
genius of the nineteenth century. His work was begun 
in 1856 and completed November 16, 1869, utilizing thir- 
teen years — a number that forebode ill to the enterprise; 
but, in spite of that horrid thirteen, Suez stock is at a 
premium. 

We have just passed five Russian battle-ships and 
first-class cruisers, several torpedo-destroyers, all steam- 
ing for Chinese and Japanese waters, it is supposed. The 
British officers aboard this ship prophesy that such an 
armament pushing into the Far East may mean war 
sooner or later, and expect to see a like number of Brit- 
ish battle-ships and torpedo-destroyers on their way to 
the front before this ship passes Gibraltar. Having seen 
many of the world's battle-ships, armored cruisers, and 
torpedo-destroyers all the way from Yokohama to Port 
Said, I am almost ready to say I am sick of the whole 
display of man-killing machines. If we must spend bil- 
lions on our army and navy because we have a sort of 
a fatherly relation over Cuba and the Philippines, the 
sooner we get rid of them the better. To send that fleet 
of war vessels through the canal cost Russia at least 
$50,000. How does it appeal to you to see the Russian 
government pay $50,000 out in cold cash to steam her 
engines of destruction less than a hundred miles, and 
then think about our having given flour and meat by the 



2l6 Around the World. 

shipload, besides considerable cash, in order to help Rus- 
sia's starving, famine-stricken peasantry? To me it 
seems that such a record would invite another famine. 
Far-away possessions are questionable property, and the 
sooner the nations learn it the better. People who are 
managed at the point of a cannon, and are not in sym- 
pathy with their rulers, should be classed as convicts 
ruled by force. Where such conditions exist, rebellions 
may be hourly expected regardless of the nature of the 
mother country. No advanced Western nation can leg- 
islate and establish ideals for an Eastern people without 
friction in the application. 

Port Said is reached. Newspapers are in great de- 
mand. We have been two weeks on the sea without news 
of the world. We are interested about the naval display. 
Reports are in the air that Russia has her eye on Korea, 
and proposes to bluff Japan. 

I went ashore and was detained in the quarantine sta- 
tion till my clothes could be disinfected as I had come 
from a plague port. I faced a boiler about four and one- 
half by nine feet in size. The huge door was opened, 
and into it my clothing went, the engine was started, 
and I was nervous lest I would see them again as tat- 
tered carpet-rags. Before I had decided to send for a 
tailor and outfitter, the engine ceased its murmur, and 
my restlessness ceased when the door opened, and there 
lay my equipment none the worse for its siege. 

Desiring to see Port Said, with a population estimated 
as high as thirty-seven thousand, I made a circuit of the 
city after passing the customs officials who charged me 
seventeen pence (34 cents) for the privilege of asking 
me a few questions. 

While I admit that this city has a number of as good 
people as the world possesses, I must confess that I be- 



Bombay to Port Said. 217 

lieve it is the most abominable, immoral, blasphemous, 
and unrighteous city in my knowledge. I am not bellig- 
erent, but twice I raised my cane (presented to me at 
Cawnpore, India, cut from the Himalayas), and twice 
the bluff worked. The Turks and Arabs are not so hard 
to manage as I had imagined. Had my prescription not 
worked, I might have been prepared to be sent home in 
sections. Being a six-footer, I was doubtless ranked as 
a fighter, having hailed from a nation that gave Spain's 
navy an everlasting ducking. My rule is to say some- 
thing good about a person or keep mum, but Port Said 
is enough to drive rules into the jungles. If the people 
who lived here four thousand years ago were anything 
like these, I can easily muster a shade of sympathy for 
Moses who broke all the commandments at one time on 
account of being provoked by them. 



XVI. 
EGYPT. 

PORT SAID TO CAIRO — NILE RIVER — THE PYRAMIDS — VISIT 
TO HELIOPOLIS, THE CITY OP THE SUN — MEMPHIS THE 
MOST ANCIENT CITY CAMEL-TRIP TO PETRIFIED FOR- 
EST — ARCHAEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS — SERPENT DWELL- 
ING AMONG SARCOPHAGI. 

Having escaped from Port Said without being killed 
or wounded, I felt like rejoicing. As Cairo was the ob- 
jective point, I booked for that city, leaving Port Said 
at 9.20 A. M. As the train sped southward many a man 
was passed, each en route to the city of thugs, armed with 
an antiquated rifle or shotgun, which was swung from his 
shoulder by straps, or carried at shoulder arms as if ready 
for a fight. The track is alongside the great canal all the 
way to Ismailia, and is quite level, with few curves ; in 
fact, a baseball twirler would be disappointed if he should 
come here in search of sample copy curves. One hour 
was taken at Ismailia for lunch, and the journey toward 
Cairo resumed. The scenes presented are a reproduction 
of India, except that there are sixteen camels and donkeys 
here to one in India. So numerous are those beautiful ( ?) 
animals that one can not open his eyes without one is 
in sight. After passing Zagazig and other cities whose 
names would give a person not familiar with them the 
lockjaw at every attempt to pronounce them, we reached 
Cairo, the Camel City, or City of Mosques, where the 

218 



Egypt. 219 

first foreign mail in two months awaited my arrival. I 
had traveled more than twenty-two thousand miles, and 
my disconsolate, weary self needed the refreshing that 
came as a mighty inundation in those letters. 

Egypt has a population of about seven millions, the 
greater number of whom are descendants of the original 
inhabitants, who antedated the coming of Jacob (Israel) 
several thousand years. The Nomad Bedouins number 
about 300,000; Turks, about 16,000; Greeks, about 40,- 
000; Italians, about 18,000; French, 16,000; and 16,000 
English, Austrians, and Germans. Cotton is the chief 
article of export, though wheat and rice are also items 
ill the export list. There are about twelve hundred miles 
of railroad, and canals are everywhere among the low- 
lands along the Nile. It was a surprise to me to note 
that the Nile has only a very narrow strip of land on each 
side that can be cultivated. The remainder is desert 
with the exception of a few- small oases. I followed the 
Nile seven hundred and thirty miles south from Alex- 
andria, and am safe in asserting that, below the Delta 
country, one can see across the green belt from the eastern 
sand dunes to the western sand-parched Saharas. This 
narrow belt of greenery follows the Nile, affording the 
food supply. So valuable is this narrow belt that much 
of it rents at from $20 to $30 per acre annually. 

Having arrived in Cairo at five o'clock in the evening, 
I was impatient for the morrow's sun, as I had read and 
dreamed of the Pyramids until anxiety was at the climax. 
To think of being within seven miles of the greatest 
wonder of the world, and the only one of the original 
seven wonders that remains to this day, and be forced 
to wait till morning to behold it was trying to me. I 
managed to sleep a part of the night, though it was a 
battle, and hastened toward the Egyptian giants' head- 



220 Around the World. 

quarters soon after Aurora's horsemen drove in sight. 
Crossing the Nile bridge, I entered the tram which runs 
to the Pyramid hourly in the forenoon and every half 
hour in the afternoon, requiring about forty minutes in 
each direction, charge of three piasters (15 cents) for the 
round trip. The distance is said to be seven miles. Ap- 
proaching the Pyramid, I was disappointed; but on my 
arrival, and walking up to the base, and casting my eyes 
toward its summit, I was astonished, bewildered with the 
proportions of the giant. The base-line is seven hundred 
and thirty-two and its perpendicular height is four hun- 
dred and sixty feet, and it is said to cover thirteen acres 
of ground. No picture can do the Pyramid justice. Its 
immensity, to be appreciated or even imagined, must be 
seen. History freely pronounces it the most stupendous 
structure erected by the hand of man in all the world. 
Its building antedates history. Herodotus, the father of 
history, came here and picked up every available thread 
of tradition lingering in the minds of the people, and 
stated that it was built by a prehistoric race, requiring 
one hundred thousand men ten years in getting the ma- 
terials, and twenty additional years to erect this wonder 
of the world. Some assert that it was built uncounted 
years before the Flood. Herodotus assigned it to King 
Cheops, who, it is asserted, reigned over Egypt 4200 
B. C. When Egyptologists differ at least twenty-two 
centuries in their chronological statements, one must be 
on his guard when any date whatever is even suggested. 
Other writers, such as Diodorus and Pliny, try to un- 
ravel the mystery, but failure perches upon their every 
attempt. 

Bunsen claims that Egypt had enjoyed at least six 
thousand seven hundred years of prosperity before the 
pyramid building was begun. Piozzi Smith, a noted 



TX 




Egypt. 221 

Egyptologist, thought that the great Pyramid was the 
first one reared of the family of Pyramids numbering 
over thirty, and that it was undertaken immediately after 
the migration into Egypt from the plains of Shinar under 
Divine guidance, and sets the date at 2170 B. C, when 
the Pleiades pointed exactly at the entrance passage. The 
Pyramid was built to be used as a tomb. About 820 
A. D. an entrance was forced into the Pyramid, discover- 
ing to the world two large chambers. The entrance is 
about forty feet from the base of the northern side, and 
leads through a massive vaulted gallery to a subterranean 
chamber three hundred and forty-seven feet from the 
entrance, and about ninety feet below the base of the 
Pyramid. This large chamber is forty-six by twenty- 
seven feet and eleven feet in height. It is believed that 
this chamber was constructed to deceive people and 
cause them to think it the real resting-place of the king. 
But about sixty feet from the entrance an upward pas- 
sage begins, leading towards the center of the Pyramid. 
After we followed this about 120 feet, we came to a place 
called the Great Gallery, where a well or shaft more 
than 100 feet deep leads down to the subterranean cham- 
ber. Just before reaching the Great Gallery we turned 
off on a passage no feet in length, leading into the 
Queen's Chamber, which is 20 feet high and 18 by 17 in 
length and breadth. Returning to the passage-way we 
entered the Great Gallery, which is 7 feet wide, 28 feet 
high, and 150 feet long, and leads upward to the King's 
Chamber, the largest, being 34 by 17 by 19 feet. In the 
King's Chamber is a sarcophagus cut out of red sand- 
stone. The lid has been taken away by vandals if one 
ever existed. Many urge that this piece of red sandstone 
was not carved to be used as a sarcophagus, but as a 



222 Around the World. 

standard of measure which should be handed down to all 
time, being the exact size of the laver of the Hebrews. 
Above the King's Chamber are two smaller rooms, which 
I did not visit, as they afford no interest. The stone in 
the Great Gallery is so smoothly polished that one can 
stand upright only with great difficulty. It is really not 
safe to make the trip with shoes, so slippery is the foot- 
ing, and in places to slip means severe bruises if not 
death ; yet people continue to wear their shoes on that 
crawling, slippery, climbing, irksome trip. Wind Cave, 
Mammoth Cave, and the Cave of the Winds are easily 
visited compared with the interior of the Great Pyramid. 
Until those toe-holds in the smooth, steep rock are deep- 
ened, I shall pronounce it dangerous to make the tour 
of the interior, even if you do have two Arabs to help 
you, whose charge is two shillings. 

But of all trips requiring strength, a level head, and 
endurance, that to the top of the Great Pyramid is easily 
pre-eminent. For two Arab helpers a charge of two 
shillings is made, and none but the strong should attempt 
the climb. Should one become dizzy en route to the 
summit, a fall and the smashing of every bone is certain. 
When about half way up I looked down to the ground, 
and it seemed that the earth was fading from view, and 
when I turned my eyes toward the summit it appeared 
that the ascent had only begun, so deceiving are the sur- 
roundings. The slant height, or hypotenuse, is said to be 
6 io feet. I had ascended the Washington Monument 
500 feet in the elevator, and was almost afraid to look out 
of the portals at that dizzy height as the scene bewildered, 
but here I was 460 feet above the level of the ground, 
and 610 feet from the starting point and on the outside 
of the world's greatest wonder, which made the cold 
chills creep from the alpha to the omega of my frame- 



Egypt- 223 

work on account of the extreme danger incident to this 
aerial situation. 

What if a treacherous Arab would push you off? 
What if you should slip or become dizzy or suffer sun- 
stroke? In either case a person would plunge downward 
from this Alpine height, leaving a pound of flesh on each 
craggy rock, so that when the base is reached a hungry 
vulture would probably turn away from the skinned, flesh- 
less skeleton for a sight guaranteeing a more abundant 
repast. 

There is no other site on earth that has seen more 
historic events than the summit of this Pyramid, unless 
it be Jerusalem itself. How unutterably impressive the 
scene becomes as I recall before the mind's eye the vari- 
ous chapters of history that have had their setting right 
here before me ! Ancient greatness and power are here 
represented at their climax. Yonder is the Nile, stretch- 
ing itself along like a mighty silvery serpent in a sinuous 
bed of luxuriant greenery. It is the Nile of history; 
the river in which Cleopatra was rowed in a vessel whose 
several parts were of beaten gold, and her coy lover lay 
at her feet captured by the irresistible power of her 
beauty. Yonder is the whole line of pyramids standing 
like colossal giants across the desert sands, each a secret 
unto itself. There is Cairo with its multitude of tower- 
ing mosques, minarets, and steeples, and a motley people 
numbering nearly a quarter of a million. 

Beyond this mysterious city, and to one side, is the 
site of Heliopolis, known as the "City of the Sun," called 
On by Moses in the forty-fifth verse of the forty-first 
chapter of Genesis. Its towering obelisk remains as a 
token of its former glory. Ages sweep by; Memphis 
rises and falls ; temples, towers, palaces, obelisks fade 
from sight and are forgotten till dug from hiding by the 



224 Around the World. 

excavator's shovel. I can see mighty kings sweep along 
before this giant work of man, and swear by the Pyramids 
that they will conquer or die; they, too, fade away, and 
time crushes them with her revengeful hand. 

Another vision flashes before the mind; it presents a 
band of Ishmaelitish traders ; their camels bear "spices, 
balm, and myrrh," which they trade for corn. In the 
company I see a boy who had been ill-treated by his sev- 
eral brothers. That boy is to change a nation; he is to 
be the hero of Bible history. He is left, and the caravan 
returns laden with goods. Famine stalks forth, and a 
procession of donkeys with ten young men comes wind- 
ing its circuitous way from yonder highlands. They ex- 
change money for corn ; they return home, and come 
again with their silvery gray father, whose heart is al- 
most breaking. He settles here. The number increases 
until Israel waxes strong. 

The people are slaves and suffer untold wrongs. 
Down yonder on the island of Rhodda a babe is found in 
the rushes who is destined to lead the downtrodden hosts 
on to victory. Bricks without straw is part of the thread 
that breaks the camel's back ; the start is made ; the king, 
whose heart is hardened, follows. The Red Sea divides, 
and Moses leads his people to the promised land, while 
the crushing of chariots in a complete overthrow closes 
the chapter. 

A new era dawns. Persian hordes, Macedonian 
armies, Roman legions and turbaned Turks, sweep into 
sight with thundering tramp, and the roar of a thousand 
battles rises out of the dust of centuries till prophecy is 
fulfilled. Listen! "There shall be no more a prince in 
Egypt, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the 
nations ; for I will diminish them, that they shall no more 



Egypt. 225 

rule over the nations." From the summit of this monster, 
I have impressed upon me the solution of the world 
problem; I hear, or seem to hear, the reason for all this 
decay; I see what the trouble is with Egypt, with India, 
China, and Japan. It is this : The nation that forgets 
God is doomed. 

Nations, write that sentence upon your banners. 
Hang it as frontlets between your eyes. "Blessed is the 
nation whose God is the Lord." "Thou shalt have no 
other gods before me," is a commandment smashed by a 
multiplication of gods. I have seen acres of Egyptian 
gods during the past week, and can scarcely look about 
me without seeing evidences of Scripture's fulfillment. 

Desiring to visit the site of Heliopolis, the Oxford 
of old Egypt, where once stood the great Temple of the 
Sun, I went by train to Matarieh, about seven miles from 
Cairo, where I hired a donkey for three piasters to ride 
to the site, scarcely a mile beyond. The donkey was 
named Pharaoh, and his untold stubbornness was prima 
facie evidence that he was really some relation to his 
namesake. 

It was here at Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, that 
General Kleber defeated the Turks in 1800. But long 
before this a mighty city covered the plain. Here flour- 
ished the greatest college of which Egypt ever boasted ; 
greater was it by far than the college now in full blast 
at Cairo with two thousand students, all sitting upon the 
floor, studying only the Koran, the Mohammedan Bible. 
At this city Plato and Herodotus studied logic, phi- 
losophy, and history ; for at that time Egypt surpassed 
Greece in learning. Here lived the noted astronomer, 
Dionysius, who recorded having observed the darkness 
that covered the sacrifice on Calvary on that historic day. 
15 



226 Around the World. 

Josephus states that On (or Heliopolis, its Greek name) 
was the city given to Jacob for his residence when he 
first came to Egypt. 

Here is the Virgin's tree, a sycamore, under which, 
tradition declares, the Holy Family rested when driven 
into Egypt by a threatening king. The tree is inclosed 
to prevent visitors from hacking it to pieces. I entered, 
with the consent of the guard stationed at the gate, and 
was given a small piece of the sacred tree. 

Here is what is called the miraculous fountain, be- 
cause it is said to have been salty once, but has been 
perfect ever since the Virgin Mary bathed her infant in 
its waters. Here Cleopatra transplanted the balsams of 
Judea, which produced the celebrated balm of Gilead, 
and thereby became famous. In Genesis xli, 45, Joseph 
is mentioned as having been married here. In Jeremiah 
xliii, 13, Heliopolis is called the City of Bethshemish, 
whose images shall be broken. The twelfth verse states, 
"I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt," 
and it has been done. Nothing but the inclosure of the 
temple and an obelisk of Osertosen I remains to tell the 
story. This obelisk stands sixty-eight feet in height, and 
the city is plowed over. The story of the decadence of 
Heliopolis is unknown. When Strabo came, he declared 
that he found ruins only, and what caused its ruin he 
declareth not. If you read Ezekiel xxx, 17, and Jeremiah 
xliii, 13, you will learn why Heliopolis is no more. 

These dead cities and nations show that destruction 
awaits men and nations that defy or attempt to outrun 
the living God. 

Thebes, where are your hundred gates, horsemen, 
and cars, mentioned by the poet? What caused you to 
lose your grasp upon a thousand States, which Homer 



Egypt. 227 

suggests were once yours? Let the poet of the Greeks 
speak : 

" Not all proud Thebes' unrivaled walls contain 
The world's great empress on the Egyptian plain, 
That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand States, 
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates; 
Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars, 
From each wide portal issuing to the wars." 

The grandeur and splendor once evinced by proud, 
unrivaled Thebes, so entrancing to Homer that it indel- 
libly frescoed itself upon his mind, has flown, and in its 
departure has left wreck, ruin, decay, and almost total 
annihilation as vestiges of its former greatness. 

"The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith : Behold, 
I will punish the multitude of No [Thebes] and their 
kings." (Jeremiah xlvi, 25.) "No [Thebes] shall be 
rent asunder." (Ezekiel xxx, 16.) 

History follows as the narrator of prophecy fulfilled. 

After scaling the Great Pyramid and finishing the 
trip through its interior, I completed arrangements for 
a camel at a charge of six shillings for a long trip out 
in the Sahara Desert to the petrified forest so called, 
but I would call it a petrified tree instead. Why dignify 
one tree, or at most half a dozen trees, with the name 
"forest?" I did not care so much for the petrifaction so 
apparent away out in the desert as for the trip itself. I 
had often wondered how it would be to ride a long- 
legged, crooked-necked camel over the scorching Sahara 
sands as a Bedouin, and if I ever had enough of any one 
thing in my life it was that riding. If I had consulted 
my own feelings I would have preferred to walk and 
carry the camel, and probably would if I had been strong 
enough ; but since I was out for experience I decided 
to ride the entire journey or die in the attempt, even if 



228 Around the World. 

every bone in my anatomy ached. My camel was named 
Rameses, and if he was not in the ark, I rest assured 
that his ancestors were, his age being very much in evi- 
dence, though he could rise from the turtle posture almost 
as quickly as the upspring of a rabbit, thereby requiring 
a person to be very active or the lantern- jawed desert 
traveler would be off without his passenger. Of course 
we were wise enough to take our lunch along, as those 
desert wastes produce nothing. 

A visit to old Cairo is not without interest, but old 
Cairo is a reproduction of the old cities of India. He 
who would see only the native quarters of old Indian 
cities might stop off here and save a few thousand miles 
of his journey. 

Cairo's mosques are built on a small scale compared 
with those of India. Those of India are more beautiful, 
more costly, and much larger, the finest one here being 
at the citadel, built by Mohammed AH in 1829, and pat- 
terned after those at Constantinople. The mosques of 
Cairo are the leading sights of the city. The Coptic 
church in old Cairo is interesting because it is the tra- 
ditional site where the Virgin took refuge, for a while at 
least, when the innocent children were being massacred 
at Bethlehem. The crypt of the church, containing the 
identical spot, is twenty-nine hundred years old, the spot 
occupied by the sacred ones being marked with a cross. 
The citadel is much sought by visitors because of its 
high, commanding position affording a splendid view of 
the city, and also because four hundred and fifty Mame- 
lukes were slain here; only one, Emin Bey, escaped by 
leaping his horse from the towering battlement, crushing 
his horse, but saving himself. 

Among the objects of interest in and about Cairo 
which I shall not take the space to describe are: The 



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Egypt. 229 

Ezbekieh Gardens in the center of Cairo; the bazaars 
on Mousky Street ; the university ; hundreds of mosques ; 
the tombs of the khalifs and Mamelukes ; the great aque- 
duct in old Cairo ; Rhodda Island, reached by train, where 
the Nilometer is located ; and Moses' tree, where Moses 
is supposed to have been found in the rushes along the 
Nile. The museum, where are exhibited the mummies, 
sarcophagi, gods, and relics of ancient Egyptians, is 
opened daily except Mondays, an admission fee of five 
piasters being charged at present. It contains probably 
the finest collection of Egyptian antiquities extant, the 
building itself having cost $1,000,000. The ostrich farm 
near Heliopolis contains about eight hundred birds, and 
is a favorite Mecca for the ladies. 

Next to the Pyramids the Sphinx attracts the atten- 
tion of every traveler. It is the most lonesome, bachelor- 
like object you ever saw. All alone, it sits about five 
hundred yards from the Great Pyramid. It is called by 
the Arabs "the father of terror, or immensity." It is 
supposed to be older than the oldest Pyramid, and is 
carved from the adamantine rock. Its paws are fifty feet 
in length ; its total length is given as one hundred and 
forty feet, but those feet seem short when the Sphinx 
is compared with the Pyramids. Some idea of the size 
of this fellow may be gathered when you imagine him to 
be thirty feet from brow to chin and fourteen feet across 
the brow. A stone discovered by Mariette Bey, now in 
the museum at Cairo, contains the proof that the Sphinx 
antedates the Pyramids. 

Speaking of the Sphinx, Kinglake said : "Laugh and 
mock if you will at the worship of stone idols; but mark 
ye this, ye breakers of images, that in one regard the 
stone idol bears awful semblance of Deity — unchange- 
ableness in the midst of change — the same will and in- 



230 Around the World. 

tent, for ever and ever inexorable. Upon ancient dy- 
nasties of Ethiopian and Egyptian kings; upon Greek 
and Roman ; upon Arab and Ottoman conquerors ; upon 
Napoleon, dreaming of an Eastern Empire ; upon battle 
and pestilence ; upon the ceaseless misery of the Egyptian 
race; upon keen-eyed travelers; upon Herodotus yester- 
day and Warburton to-day ; upon all, and more, this un- 
worldly Sphinx has watched like a providence, with the 
same earnest eyes and the same tranquil mien ; and we 
shall die and Islam (Mohammedanism) shall wither 
away, and still that sleepless rock will be watching and 
watching the works of a new busy race, with those same 
sad, earnest eyes and the same tranquil mien everlasting. 
You dare not mock at the Sphinx." 

I was not impressed so much with the Sphinx. To 
me it is not so inspiring as Mr. Kinglake suggests ; nor 
is it commanding, for it sits in a depression. While the 
earth's crust was forming, a colossal bowlder, or rather a 
stupendous stratified rock, was upheaved. The ancients 
chose it as an object out of which to sculpture for them- 
selves an unusually large god. So, to my mind, the 
Sphinx is easily accounted for; but the Great Pyramid 
staggers the mind in every attempt to account for it. The 
other Pyramids, which stretch out across the desert like 
huge haystacks, are smaller than the one considered, so 
I will not devote space to them. 

Of unusual interest to every student of history is 
Memphis, one of the oldest cities of the world, a city 
that arose, flourished, and fell before history was born 
to record her glory. Much has been learned concerning 
the ancient city of Memphis through its necropolis known 
as Sakkarah. The Egyptologist Bey says : "The history 
of Memphis is to a great extent the history of Heliopolis. 
Already founded under the most ancient kings, flourishing 



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Egypt. 231 

under the great pyramid-building fourth dynasty, neg- 
lected and abandoned under the eleventh, twelfth, and 
thirteenth dynasties, Memphis, like Egypt itself, arose 
to new life when the kings of the eighteenth dynasty 
succeeded in clearing the soil of Egypt of its invaders. 
Taken and retaken by turns, under Assyrian, Ethiopian, 
and Persian dynasties, Memphis still preserved, under the 
Greeks, a portion of its ancient splendor, although when 
Strabo came it was already deserted. But the time was 
coming when of Memphis nothing but ruins should re- 
main, and when the somber menaces of Jeremiah should 
be fulfilled to the letter : 'O, daughter of Egypt, make 
ready that which can serve thee in thy captivity, because 
Memphis shall become a desert ; she shall be forsaken 
and become uninhabitable.' " If ever prophecy was ful- 
filled, this is a genuine case of it. 

I took a train fifteen miles out to Bedreshayn, where 
I hired a donkey and rode over to the ruins of Memphis, 
which lie scarcely three miles from the Bedreshayn sta- 
tion. I found mounds, fragments of buildings, walls, 
broken columns, and wreckage everywhere as the only 
vestiges of that historic city which for ages experienced 
such a tremendous influence over the affairs of the world. 
I rode my donkey through streets so narrow that no 
donkey could turn around ; I rode into houses where once 
all was happiness, splendor, and magnificence; I rode up 
to a house on the accumulated dirt of centuries, dirt 
piled up until the ceiling was on a level with the sur- 
rounding country, and my steed walked over the wall 
and down into a parlor or kitchen with perfect ease. This 
sight shocked me more than the sight of the Great Pyra- 
mid. To have the experience of riding over a city so 
historic as Memphis, and at the same time to apply the 
words of Jeremiah to the scene as I went, was a lesson 



^32 Around the World. 

that shall haunt me and make me tenfold more brave in 
hurling Biblical philippics wherever they are needed. 
Heretofore I had read of fulfilled prophecy, but here I 
see it. Not an inhabitant is here, though men are con- 
stantly employed in excavating for buried treasures. One 
snapshot at Memphis was at a bunch of trees that have 
grown fifty feet high, their roots in the dirt that has 
accumulated directly over a housetop. The picture ought 
to show the house, the dirt over it, and the tall trees 
growing still higher. Large statues of Rameses I and II, 
carved in the form of towering giants, are still to be seen. 
A charge to see the larger one is made. 

I went out prepared to spend the day, taking lunch 
from Cairo. At the lunch hour a crowd of hungry, fly- 
eyed boys gathered about, waiting for the scraps ; hence 
I ate very little. On finishing, my donkey-driver took 
charge of the remnants, and I supposed that he would 
give the boys what he did not care for; but, just think 
of it, he made a sort of an ugly growl as if calling dogs, 
then threw the ragged scraps into the dirt, and those boys 
flew after them, covering them with filth and slime from 
the excavations in their efforts to get the most. They 
wallowed and cuffed each other like football elevens, 
rooting in the mud. Whenever a scrap was secured, the 
happy possessor quickly plunged it into his mouth, dirt 
and all, lest another might wrest it from his grasp. Such 
a sight upon the ruins of the once proud capital of Egypt 
was enough to make one sick at heart and wonder why 
a nation will, through disobedience and the trampling 
of Divine jurisprudence, sow the seeds of its own disin- 
tegration and destruction. 

Soon after my arrival in Cairo I met Mr. L. Dow 
Covington, an American, aged about forty years, who is 
superintending Egyptian antiquarian excavations, and 



Egypt 233 

whose fame has spread around the world. Through his 
foresight, planning, and skill as an antiquarian many of 
the secrets of the interior of the Great Pyramid have been 
unlocked. On a wager, he slept six nights in the sar- 
cophagi of the larger Pyramids, once in each sarcophagus 
or tomb, and on the seventh night slept upon the summit 
of the Great Pyramid. He took the American flag with 
him, and hoisted it so that at daybreak the people at the 
hotel sent the news broadcast that "America had taken 
Egypt and had planted the Stars and Stripes upon the 
Pyramid." It is said that no other flag has ever floated 
from that summit. He slept in the tomb of the king, 
wearing no clothing except a white sheet and the Stars 
and Stripes, and he declares that an apparition haunted 
him. A noted European accompanied him another night, 
and made a like report as to the visitor. Trying to sleep 
away back yonder in the heart of that Pyramid in a coffin, 
reached partly by crawling through a long, winding way, 
constructed so as to deceive any discoverer, the tomb 
inhabited by bats, it is no wonder that they saw appa- 
ritions, as one under such conditions would expect to 
see specters, ghosts, hobgoblins, and a thousand appear- 
ances a thousand-fold more uncanny than the headless 
horseman of Sleepy Hollow. 

As other people had made splendid "strikes" in dis- 
covering valuables, Mr. Covington began prospecting. 
A half mile south of the Great Pyramid his iron rod 
struck something solid, and, after probing in every direc- 
tion, he found that a long wall ran due north and south. 
Keeping the knowledge of his find quietly to himself, he 
secured from the Egyptian goverrment a permit to ex- 
cavate for two years on a tract of land embracing the 
desired spot. His right being secured, he put a force of 
men to work, and in one day had unearthed the top of 



234 



Around the World. 



a temple whose walls measure one hundred and eighty by 
ninety feet. Sinking - a shaft in the center, the temple 
was found to average forty feet in height. From the 
work belonging to the ancient Egyptians found therein, 
experts pronounce it an edifice built during the first 
dynasty, which, according to all authorities, was 3600 
B. C. at least, and some place it at 5005 B. C. It is pro- 
nounced the oldest temple unearthed in Egypt, and hence 
the oldest piece of architecture in the known world, and 
also the only one of the kind in the world. When I ar- 
rived on the scene, he said: "You are very fortunate. I 
have just struck the tomb. I have just descended into it 
and returned. You go down, and you will be the second 
person in thousands of years to see it." I quickly went 
to the shaft in the center of the temple, let myself down 
by use of a rope fastened above, and by utilizing little toe 
pockets on each side. In this way I descended forty feet, 
and entered the tomb, which I followed at least seventy- 
five feet, using candles to find the way. When I returned 
he said : "It is surely remarkable that two Americans 
were to be the first ones to come here and open this estab- 
lishment to the world after centuries of silence." You see, 
he is thoroughly American. 

I secured some alabaster fragments of dishes here, 
such as were then in use. I made a discovery here. 
Examining the ground at a point not touched by the 
spade, where it dipped over the walls and roof, I noticed 
several strata. The lower one consisted of clay*; the next 
sand and gravel, shells, etc. ; the next clay, then more 
sand and gravel, indicating that this building lay for 
years under the sea, and it is not hard to believe or postu- 
late that that sea was the flood of the Bible. Geology 
teaches that those strata observable were formed under 
water; hence, if these postulates be true, we have the 



Egypt. 235 

most wonderful sight imaginable, an edifice that grew 
gray with age untold years before the' great deluge. But 
how came it to be covered? Rushing waters flowing 
from a higher level carried dirt, mud, and rocks, and 
thus filled the entire interior, and also buried it com- 
pletely, so that you can now walk upon its topmost wall 
from the level of the surrounding terra firma. Further 
interest is attached to this structure because it is found 
to be built directly in line with the Great Pyramid. 

While Mr. Covington and I were prowling about in 
an adjacent subterranean tomb, each carrying candles, 
I dug the well-preserved head of a mummy out of the 
dirt. It is pronounced to be an excellent specimen. I 
brought it to my room, and kept it two days, receiving 
the congratulations of all to whom I showed my find. 
I learned that I would encounter serious difficulty in 
passing the custom-houses with it unless I should secure 
a special permit, and even then I was liable to have it 
stolen ; so I turned it over to a representative of a leading 
American university, who is prepared to get it through 
safely. It will be given a prominent position in the de- 
partment of archaeology with my compliments. I have 
a section of the vertebra?, which I hope to get through 
safely. I also secured a small idol. At another point I 
secured some rare Egyptian coins, that circulated back 
yonder in the infancy of time. I have also a few coins 
direct from excavations about the Pyramid, bearing the 
inscriptions of Diocletian, Trajan, and Constantine, hav- 
ing circulated many centuries ago. 

Upon the section of ground secured by Mr. Covington 
a number of mastabas have been excavated, some of which 
are very deep. His workmen (natives) are afraid of one 
in particular, which, besides containing a few sarcophagi, 
has an occupant, a live snake about seven feet in length 



236 Around the World. 

and of grayish color. He, having slept in the tombs as 
described, has the reputation of being fearless, and pro- 
posed that we pay this subterranean chamber a visit, to 
which I assented, not desiring to be outdone by him. He, 
with dare-devil spirit, led the way, and I, with throbbing 
heart, most reluctantly followed, expecting every moment 
to see the varmint as we crawled forward from chamber 
to chamber, carrying lighted candles and touching rem- 
nants of skeletons at each move that had doubtless done 
their part in erecting the Pyramids dreamy cycles ago; 
but no snake appeared, to accelerate the already rapid 
pulse-beats, although a circuitous track was visible in the 
sand, indicating that he had recently drawn his slimy 
length directly across our pathway. Since the cobra 
episode in Central Ceylon, I have not made it a business 
to thrust my cane into every tuft of grass or brush-heap 
in order to stir up a piece of living rope ; but in this case 
I acted on the thought that "where he leads me I will 
follow." On my return from that ill-fated cavern, the 
scorching, parching, grassless desert partook of the nature 
of a paradise. The Bible story about the brazen serpent 
seems to have left its impress indelibly upon the Egyptian 
mind, so that an army of devils is preferable to the sight 
of one serpent. 



XVII. 

SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES UP THE 

NILE. 

ALEXANDRIA TO THE FIRST CATARACT — ASSIOUT, ASSOUAN, 
LUXOR, AND THE GREAT DAM VISITED — JOURNEY TO 
THE TOMBS OE THE KINGS — COLOSSAL REMNANTS OE 
ANCIENT THEBES. 

From Cairo I made a side trip to Alexandria, which 
lies more than one hundred miles to the north of Cairo. 
From Alexandria, Paul embarked upon the voyage which 
ended in shipwreck. The principal points of interest in 
Alexandria are the catacombs, the baths of Cleopatra, 
the museum, and Pompey's Pillar. This pillar, made of 
three blocks of stone, stands almost one hundred feet 
in height, having been erected by Pompey, a Roman 
official, in honor of Diocletian. It rests upon the loftiest 
site in the city, where the renowned library stood and 
was burned, blotting out all record of the lost arts. The 
philosophies of Egypt and Greece mixed here, and scored 
their Waterloo. 

Once Pompey's Pillar was surrounded with arches 
and a hundred steps, but now the pillar stands alone, while 
the stately halls and statues have allowed time to outrun 
them in the course of two thousand years. The pillar 
is the only memorial in the city which survives, having 
looked down upon Caesar and Napoleon, upon Greek and 
Roman, infidel and Christian, Jew and Moslem, as they 

237 



238 Around the World. 

struggled for possession. Near the railway station Cleo- 
patra's Needles once stood, but they have been removed ; 
one going to London, the other to Central Park, New 
York. 

Tradition declares that Alexandria stands upon the 
spot where the ever-changing Proteus lived, about whom 
the poets have written so much. 

In 332 B. C, Alexander the Great noticed the natural 
advantages here afforded, and ordered his architect to 
make plans for a city, to be the capital of the East. Alex- 
andria soon became the chief city of the Macedonian 
dynasty, but under the reign of Cleopatra, who disgraced 
herself and Egypt also, Alexandria became the second 
city of the Roman Empire under the Csesars, though she 
retained for years her celebrity for wealth, art, and learn- 
ing. Saint Mark came here to preach the gospel. Here 
once stood the Pharos, one of the seven wonders of the 
world — a lofty white marble edifice, up whose exterior 
winding stairway chariots, with prancing Arab horses, 
went to the very summit under cracking whip. Here 
Euclid wrote his Geometry, and Hipparchus, Origen, 
and Athanasius worked out their ideas which influence 
the world's thought of this day. When Amru took Alex- 
andria in 640 A. D., he sent a message to his commander- 
in-chief, Omar, saying: "I have taken the great city of 
the West. It is impossible for me to enumerate the vari- 
ety of its richness and beauty, and I shall content myself 
with observing that it contains four thousand palaces." 
The city now has a population of two hundred and fifty 
thousand, and its sights can be seen in one day. Here, 
as at Cairo, one finds in the bazars a babel of tongues, 
curious costumes, a motley crowd, all ablaze with colors. 
If the proper place is chosen, one may see in a few min- 
utes a congress of nations, — Syrian Jews wearing ring- 



Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles Up the Nile. 239 

lets ; reckless Turkish horsemen ; high-capped Copts ; 
Albanians in white dress ; Nubians with rolling- eyes ; 
French and Italian so-called beauties ; Hindus, Bedouins ; 
women dressed like men, men dressed just like women; 
Parthians, Medes, Elamites ; people from Mesopotamia, 
India, Cappadocia, Pontus, Upper Asia; everybody and 
everything strange to one who has not seen Asia. 

In Egypt a person is pestered day and night by na- 
tives, who are forever trying to sell something or to get 
a person to ride their donkeys or camels or ride in their 
carriages. Nearly every other person you meet holds a 
few scarabs before your eyes, wanting you to buy. A 
scarab is an image 'of a bug, probably half an inch in 
length, which is found in mummies, tombs, and ruins of 
temples. The beetle or bug was worshiped by the an- 
cient Egyptians as the father of the gods, the creator 
of all things in heaven and earth, having made himself 
out of something which he himself had made, and, being 
identified with the rising sun, was typical of the resur- 
rection. 

It is the same here as throughout the Orient about 
prices and bargaining. If you pay a man all he asks, he 
will regret that he did not ask more. Pay him more than 
he asks, as some do, and he will want still more. Offer 
him half he asks, and you usually have the articles on 
your hands, unless you manage to get away before he 
accepts your offer. Sometimes an offer of one-third the 
amount asked buys the articles in question. 

At Benares or Lucknow a fellow came along wanting 
to sell me a knife at one rupee (32 cents). The knife 
was a combination, having nine blades, saws, picks, etc. 
I did not want such a complete, condensed carpenter-shop 
in my pocket, so I thought I would get rid of him by 
stating that I would give one rupee for three of them. 



240 Around the World. 

He waited until I was about to leave the depot, then came 
and accepted my offer. I gave him the solitary rupee 
and took the knives. What to do with them I did not 
know, but finally stowed them away in my already 
crowded suit cases. I happened to take one of the knives 
with me one day to the Pyramids, thinking I might need 
such a toolchest in tearing down a pyramid or for some 
other purpose, and happened to be using it when some 
Bedouins were near. They had never seen such a weapon, 
and were bent on securing it at any price. The first offer 
was much more than I had paid for the three in India, so 
the instrument and I immediately parted company. 

The next day, when about to leave the hotel for a visit 
to Memphis, an Algerian who had heard of the deal of 
the previous day and of the uncounted excellencies of the 
article his friend had purchased from me, decided that 
he, too, would have one if I could be found and if I had 
another. So he came to the hotel in Cairo, a distance 
of seven miles from his headquarters. He made me the 
same offer as his friend, and knife No. 2 was quickly dis- 
posed of, making its new owner as happy as a lark. 

The next day, when out near the Pyramids, I was 
noticed by a crowd of Bedouins, who, having heard of 
my wonderful' combination, gathered about me. Among 
the number was one who had been present on the day that 
I had been discovered in possession of a wonder greater 
to them than the Sphinx, and this one informed the others. 
Not being able to supply the entire aggregation, I sold 
out to the first one who offered the regulation price, 
though prior to the sale some made higher bids. If all 
the inhabitants of the Saharas are similarly minded, it 
might pay some one to import a cargo of such ware from 
India's coral strand. 

The Nile is one of the four most historic rivers of the 



Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles Up the Nile. 241 

world, the other three being the Yangste-Kiang, the 
Ganges, and the Jordan. I have ridden upon the placid 
bosom of the four excepting the Jordan, and expect to 
test it within two weeks. 

By the Romans this river was called the Nilus, and by 
the Greeks Neilos, from "nea ilus" (new mud). The 
Nile flows a distance of one thousand three hundred and 
fifty miles without a tributary, and is declared by Hum- 
boldt to be without parallel in the physical geography of 
the world. The greatest breadth of the Nile is about 
two thousand feet, and its current averages about three 
miles. The Nile figures extensively in Scripture, par- 
ticularly when its waters are mentioned as having been 
turned to blood. "This river formerly had seven mouths," 
says the historian, "and of these five are dried up, and 
the only exit now for the waters of the river is by the 
artificially-constructed openings by Damietta and Rosetti. 
Most literally, then, is the prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled : 
"The Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyp- 
tian sea, and with His mighty wind shall He shake His 
hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, 
and make men go over dry-shod." History again bears 
record to the fulfillment of prophecy, but I shall not mul- 
tiply instances. 

The trip to Luxor is through the cradle of that which 
is most ancient. Tombs, palaces, towers, and ruins mark 
the centers of activity throughout the journey. 

At Assiout, a city of over thirty thousand, more than 
three hundred miles south of Alexandria, is located the 
largest and most successful plant of the American mis- 
sion of the United Presbyterian Church. Through Rev. 
Dr. Griffin, of Cairo, I was shown some of their work, 
and further by the Rev. J. Campbell White, who has 
just arrived on the field from Calcutta. Nearly every 
16 



242 Around the World. 

person in Assiout who can talk English was trained in 
the schools of this mission. 

From Luxor I continued my tour into the boundary 
of Khartoum. Six miles south of Assouan I visited the 
great dam, pronounced to be the greatest triumph of en- 
gineering and construction in the world since the build- 
ing of the Great Pyramid. Recently completed, it is one 
and one-fourth miles long; one hundred and fifty feet 
deep ; extends seventy-five feet above the level of the 
river and seventy-five feet in the ground for a foun- 
dation ; was four years in building, requiring fifteen thou- 
sand men at a cost of $15,000,000. A syndicate took the 
contract, to be paid by the government of Egypt in annual 
installments of $800,000 per year for forty years. Hence 
it will cost $32,000,000, affording the contracting syndi- 
cate a profit of $17,000,000 for interest, etc. The dam 
reaches from mountain-side to mountain-side, thus form- 
ing a great reservoir for the storing of water, to be let 
loose at the proper time by means of one hundred and 
eighty sluicegates located at the bottom of the dam, and 
operated, raised, and lowered by powerful winches, mak- 
ing it possible to secure two or more inundations of the 
Nile instead of one annually. By a system of locks, ves- 
sels ascend and descend ; no other locks of the kind are 
in existence, I am told by the officials, who were very 
kind, and took pains to show me the great monster that 
bids defiance to the river. The material for its construc- 
tion was secured in the granite quarries near by, from 
which the granite for the great temples, obelisks, and 
Pyramids was quarried. One giant obelisk eighty feet 
in length remains in the quarry, one end being in the 
living rock, the race of giant builders having been swept 
from earth before they had time to transport it to its 
intended home. When I am reminded that Pompey's 



Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles Up the Nile. 2 4 2 

Pillar, that towers almost one hundred feet at Alexandria, 
was brought from these quarries, a distance of more than 
seven hundred miles, I am amazed at the difficulty of the 
project, and wonder how such a herculean undertaking 
was ever accomplished. 

I was surprised to learn that there were no canals or 
conduits leading from the reservoir above the dam for 
irrigation purposes, for I had formed that idea of the 
purpose of the dam. The sluicegates are at the bottom 
of the dam, so that the rushing water will carry the soil 
below and not fill up the reservoir above. The soil carried 
down by each inundation is as necessary as the water 
itself. Five or seven thousand years of uninterrupted 
cultivation would impoverish any soil if not refreshed 
or renewed. The dam was built upon the cataract, the 
noise of which ancient travelers and geographers de- 
scribed as being "so prodigious as to deafen those within 
earshot," The water is near the top of the dam now, 
and will be let out in about three weeks, as the crops 
along the Nile below will then need a drink. 

The famous island of Philse is almost covered with 
water, being situated just above the dam only a few thou- 
sand yards. This inundation of the ruins of ancient 
Philse was not anticipated when the dam was being 
planned and built, but it is too late now ; what time has 
not done, the water will accomplish in a short time. 

Upon the walls of the temples at Philse are sculptures 
dating from the reigns of Roman emperors, Augustus, 
Tiberius, Domitian, and Trajan. 

Philse is ruined. Its Gothic arches, courts, colon- 
nades, and gods will soon be overturned by the cruel, 
undermining waters. The elephantine island at Luxor 
is of interest. 



244 



Around the World. 



But of all the ruins on the Upper Nile, none can be 
ranked with those of Luxor and Karnak, the remnants 
of ancient Thebes. Turning to history I read, "The exact 
origin of Thebes, like that of Memphis, is involved in 
obscurity, and its fall is as obscure as its origin." If you 
would know why Thebes bit the dust read Ezekiel xxx, 
verses 13 to 19 inclusive, remembering that Noph was the 
Hebrew name for Memphis, No was Thebes, and Aven 
was Heliopolis. Thebes, once so proud, haughty, and vile 
as to call forth the denunciation of the sacred writer, is 
no more. She is in ruins. "Thebes has always marvel- 
ously impressed the mind and imagination of travelers by 
its extent and the vastness of its monuments. There are 
temples whose front elevation was nearly a mile in length, 
fragments of colossal statues truly enormous, colonnades 
that rose to over seventy feet in height. Not only do 
these ruins extend over the whole breadth of the Nile 
valley, but on the sides of the surrounding mountains 
ancient remains lie in heaps, whilst tombs, still in good 
preservation, cover the western plain and stretch far 
out into the desert. It appeared like entering a city of 
giants, who, after a long conflict had been all destroyed, 
leaving the ruins of their vast temples as the only proofs 
of their existence. The plain on which Thebes was built, 
though limited in extent, was yet sufficient to contain 
one of the largest cities of the earth. According to Strabo, 
there is no doubt but that the ancient city covered the 
whole plain. The wide acres of Theban ruin prove alike 
the greatness of the city and the force with which it was 
overthrown. The ruined temples still stand to call forth 
the wonder of the traveler. They have seen the whole 
portion of time, of which history keeps the reckoning, 
roll before them ; they have seen kingdoms and nations 
rise and fall — the Babylonians, Jews, Persians, Greeks, 



Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles Up the Nile. 245 

and Romans. They have seen the childhood of all that 
we call ancient, and they seem likely to stand to tell their 
tale to those who will hereafter call us the ancients.* 

This ought to be enough to convince any one that no 
amount of word-painting in which I might have indulged 
would have overdrawn Thebes. I shall not take time or 
space to describe the great temple now in ruins at Luxor ; 
suffice it to state that it is a ponderous pile of mammoth 
pillars, colonnades, obelisks, statues, and colosses, seem- 
ingly erected by giants who have long since passed away. 
The Persians once sacked this temple. But let us hurry 
over by donkey to Karnak, where stand the most colossal 
ruins on earth, erected by a people who as giants must 
have been the most gigantic of which the mind can con- 
ceive. But since their kings, whom I have seen as mum- 
mies, were only ordinary men physically, their greatness 
must have consisted of superlative genius as massive 
builders. 

Excavators were at work among these Titanic ruins 
the day I visited them. Fifty men were using modern 
devices for moving a huge fragment of rock that had 
been broken from a larger piece. They were half an hour 
moving that fragment half an inch. The appliances em- 
ployed and the time required to transport the original 
here centuries ago remain among the many mysteries 
which are relegated to eternity for solution. 

Here I observed the harshness of the Egyptian task- 
master, a relic of ancient times. While attempting to 
move that rock, an accident occurred, one man having 
his leg severely hurt. I saw that he was in great pain, 
and saw the bruised part. He begged to be allowed to 
quit or rest till relief came, but that horrid, hard-hearted 



*Cook's Egypt, p. 198. 



246 Around the World. 

overseer standing by with a wild-looking leather whip 
in his hand, gave him a terrible stroke, wrapping the lash 
several times about the limb exactly on the spot of the 
injury, causing the blood to flow in rivulets to the ground. 
How I would have enjoyed clubbing that villain with my 
cane ! But two wrongs never make a right. 

The ruins of the temple at Karnak are outside the 
realm of description for massiveness, just as the Taj 
Mahal and Jumma Musjid of Agra and Delhi, India, 
stand alone for exquisite beauty and perfection of deco- 
ration and proportion. Each has the reputation of out- 
stripping the world in their respective spheres. A lady 
laden with sparkling diamonds and costly ornaments, on 
turning from her own spectacle to the Taj or Jumma 
would say, "How sublimely beautiful !" while the harsh, 
shrill-voiced builder of cantilever bridges, destroyer of 
a Hell Gate, or manufacturer of the heaviest lifting 
cranes known to man to-day, would look up at these 
Himalayan columns, obelisks, pillars, pylons, and ele- 
vated girders of the most colossal type, and shake his 
head, saying : "We are dwarfs ; our hoisting machines 
are but child toys compared with the might required to 
do all that. Let us take off our hats and return thanks 
that we have lived to see what our eyes now behold." 
One obelisk nere is the highest known, being ninety-two 
feet in height, consisting of one solid piece of granite. 
Having been quite brief, let me fire a parting shot at the 
ruins of the temple of Karnak by a quotation from the pen 
of Homer : "For many a day after I had seen it, and even 
to this hour, glimpses of Thebes mingle with my reveries 
and blend with my dreams, as if that vision had pic- 
tured itself upon the brain and left its impress there 
forever." 



Seven Hundred and Fifty Miles Up the Nile. 247 

A visit to the tombs of the kings occupied half a day. 
They are hidden away under a mountain of granite at the 
end of a canon four miles beyond the Nile, where the 
words "dreary and forsaken" lose their meaning when 
used in description. 

In Thebes, as in Memphis, I rode over the roofs. Her 
streets are filled with the dust of centuries. Prophecy has 
had its will, played its part well. 



XVIII. 
CAIRO TO JERUSALEM. 

VIA PORT SAID, JAFFA, AND BEIRUT — ANOTHER QUARAN- 
TINE EXAMINATION — JAFFA TO JERUSALEM BY RAH, — 
SHARON, THE BEAUTIFUL — A* CARPET OF FLOWERS — 
VALLEY OF AJALON. 

After an intensely interesting sojourn in the Upper 
Nile country among the typical Egyptians, forsaken 
Bedouins, and sable Nubians, I hastened northward many 
a weary, dusty, superheated mile to the more civilized 
but not less interesting region of the Sphinx and Pyra- 
mids. Devoting another day to fixing in my mind the 
scenes in and about Cairo, I retraced my steps via Ismailia 
to Port Said, where passage was taken for Beirut, Syria, 
on the steamship Equateur of the French mail line, known 
as the Messageries Maritimes Steam Navigation Co. My 
destination was Jerusalem via Jaffa ; but the designing 
sultan of Turkey issued an order that all passengers for 
Palestine should proceed to Beirut for examination before 
entering the promised land. Hence we were not per- 
mitted to land at Jaffa, though the waters of that danger- 
ous harbor were smooth as a floor. Hoisting anchor, the 
good ship sped away up the coast past Mount Carmel, 
and at five o'clock next morning we awakened to find her 
tugging at her anchor in the harbor at Beirut. 

The officials of his long-nosed, many-wived majesty 
came aboard to give us the searching examination for 

248 



Cairo to Jerusalem. 340 

which we had traveled all night, and had paid for the 
round trip two pounds sterling each ; but no examination 
was in evidence, and the only demand made was that each 
passenger pay one franc (twenty cents). We were then 
permitted to land. On reaching shore our passports 
were examined, a charge of one franc being made for 
permitting the sacred eyes of a Turk to fall upon our 
state papers. A visaed passport is not sufficient here. 
One must have a tezkereh, or local passport, in order to 
travel inland. Knowing this was required, I secured mine 
at Cairo through the recommendation of our consul gen- 
eral. At the consulate I was requested to have Thomas 
Cook & Son or some other tourist agency secure the paper 
for me, as I could not handle such a gobbler language. 
But having made the tour thus far without the aid or 
co-operation of any foreign power, I decided to face the 
Turkish legation alone, and not run or surrender till my 
last cannon was spiked. I informed the hotel clerks what 
I proposed to do single-handed, and they desired to send 
their intrepreter along, whose charge was four shillings. 
I stated that I did not want help, even if it were free, as 
I was out for experience. Then only two shillings were 
asked, whereupon I set out alone, found the headquarters 
of the Turkish government, and entered one office of 
more than fifty in the building and began to make known 
my mission. After a pantomime covering several min- 
utes I was conducted from office to office, up stairs and 
down, in and out of strange places, until I had gone thrice 
about the building, and secured the necessary tezkereh 
at an expense of only sixty-five cents, whereas tourist 
agents had asked me one dollar besides their messenger 
fees for securing the same article; and, besides, they 
would deprive me of the enviable experience of rubbing 
up against those women-dressed men myself. 



250 



Around the World. 



After spending two days in Beirut the steamer was 
ready to return to Jaffa per schedule. In order to em- 
bark at Beirut for Jaffa I had to take this tezkereh to the 
city officials, have an indorsement made of the fact that 
I was leaving for Jaffa, and pay an extra franc. Such is 
the diplomacy of the indomitable Turk. 

I understand that the sultan demands an annual tribute 
from the governor of Beirut as well as from all the gov- 
ernors, and they must raise this money in any way they 
can by using fair or foul means. Being taught by his 
sultanic majesty, they prove to be veritable chips from 
the old block in inordinate extortion. 

For years the terminus of the Damascus railroad has 
been at a point a considerable distance from the Beirut 
harbor. The company secured a permit to extend the 
road to the harbor. When the work was completed, the 
company was ordered not to run any trains on the new 
track until a bonus of five hundred pounds sterling should 
be paid to the sultan. This the company refused to do, 
and the road remained unused until the sultan, or Satan 
of the East, gave up the struggle and telegraphed his con- 
sent to the use of the road. I am informed that the gov- 
ernor held this message for a week after its receipt, 
thinking the company might back down from its position 
and grant the backsheesh demanded. The company, 
knowing that the message had arrived, held out faithfully 
till the representative of the sultan was outdone. The 
road was opened the first day I spent in Beirut. All the 
people who could do so left their homes and shops to 
witness the festivities attending this noteworthy event. 
The streets about the harbor were thronged with a motley 
crowd dressed in all the colors of the rainbow. Banners 
were flying, horses were prancing, bands were playing, 
fezes, sashes, loose, baggy pantaloons, and the serpentine 



Cairo to Jerusalem. 2ct 

nargilehs lent Turkish and Arabian dignity to the event, 
while the snowcapped Lebanons reminded me of the land 
I love best. 

But let us hasten to the south. All night long the 
engine's thud and the sound of the twirling screws drove 
sleep into hiding. The engineer, obeying orders, gave 
the engine a few extra revolutions per minute so that we 
might arrive in Jaffa and land before the train should 
depart for Jerusalem. 

In due time Jaffa was sighted. The ship soon dropped 
anchor in front of the historic city and here we are. 
What memories crowd upon one as recorded history 
swings into line and paints the past in living letters ! 
This is the Jaffa to which Hiram, king of Tyre, sent the 
cedar-wood to be used in the building of Solomon's 
temple. Where the ship lies, a flotilla of cedar once lay, 
waiting to be transported to Jerusalem for the building 
of the most magnificent edifice ever constructed by man, 
its plan being a product of the eternal God. From this 
very port Jonah sailed away on that tempestuous voyage 
the details of which are set forth in Jonah. When the 
great temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel the timbers were 
brought "from Lebanon to the sea of Toppa." (Ezra 
iii, 7.) Herod the Great once took Jaffa, and Josephus 
states that eighty thousand people were slain here by 
Cestius in the Jewish war. Pirates rebuilt the city, and 
Vespasian destroyed it. Napoleon took Jaffa, slew four 
thousand Albanians, and, when forced to evacuate the 
city, had five hundred of his sick soldiers poisoned so 
they would not fall into the hands of his enemy and be 
tortured. 

Of all events connected with Jaffa none surpass that 
recorded in Acts ix, 36-43. Here it was that Dorcas 



252 



Around the World. 



lived, who "was full of good works and alms-deeds which 
she did." 

When visiting the traditional tomb of Dorcas, I could 
picture the scene that once was the topic of the city. Dor- 
cas, or Tabitha, as she was sometimes called, had died. 
Doubtless every one knew her because of the good she 
had done. "And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, 
and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent 
unto him two men, desiring him that he should not delay 
to come to them." He came, "kneeled down and prayed ; 
and turning to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she 
opened her eyes ; and when she saw Peter she sat up. 
And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when 
he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. 
And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many be- 
lieved on the Lord. And it came to pass that he tarried 
many days with one Simon a tanner." 

I visited the traditional house of Simon the tanner 
and climbed upon its roof. (Acts x, 9-48.) Speaking of 
this site, Dean Stanley said : "The rude staircase to the 
roof of the modern house, flat now as of old, leads us to 
the view which gives all that is needed for the accom- 
paniments of the hour. There is the wide noonday 
heaven above ; in front is the long, bright sweep of the 
Mediterranean Sea, its near waves broken by the reefs 
famous in ancient Gentile legends as the Rocks of Androm- 
eda. Fishermen are standing and wading amongst 
them — such as might have been there of old — recalling 
to the apostle his long-forgotten nets by the Lake of 
Gennesaret, the first promise of his future call to be a 
fisher of men." 

Jaffa is a city of about thirty thousand, and is built 
mostly of stone, with tiled roofs. The city walls were 
taken down by order of the sultan. But the unexpected 



Cairo to Jerusalem. 253 

should always be expected when dealing with Constanti- 
nople. For instance, when an English company proposed 
to spend a few million dollars in giving to Jaffa a safe 
harbor, an order preventing it was issued, whereas any 
progressive government would have strained every muscle 
in an attempt to assist the undertaking by granting a 
subsidy of cold cash. 

It is now unofficially announced that England regrets 
having interfered when Russia was about to carve Turkey 
and swallow her, feathers and all. 

Jaffa is known the world over for its large oranges. 
They are not only .large, but cheap also. A basket con- 
taining more than half a peck can be purchased for six- 
pence. 

Besides visiting the tomb of Dorcas and the house 
of Simon, nearly every visitor interested in education 
visits the school of Miss Arnott, who is building for her- 
self an imperishable monument and doing untold good. 

The hotel at Jaffa bears the inscription on its front, 
"Hotel Jerusalem," and is operated by Mr. Hardegg, 
who also acts as American vice-consul. 

The train leaves Jaffa at 1.20 P. M. for Jerusalem, 
the Holy City, revered by Moslem, French, Greek, Rus- 
sian, Roman, German, and the English ; in short, it is the 
Holy City of all the great powers of earth. 

The distance from Jaffa to Jerusalem as the crow flies 
is about thirty-five, by road forty, and by rail fifty-three 
miles. Leaving Jaffa, one is impressed that he is really 
in a land flowing with milk and honey. Fruit-gardens 
greet the eye as one looks in either direction from the 
train. Lemons and oranges, clinging to the limbs in al- 
most endless profusion, indicate that this old land still 
produces abundantly. Passing from the gardens, the 
plain of Sharon welcomes the pilgrim to its carpet of 



254 Around the World. 

flowers. Here the flowering narcissus flourishes to the 
delight of every beholder. At each station the passengers 
utilize every spare moment in gathering flowers of a vari- 
ety of colors, returning quickly to the cars when the 
whistle from an American locomotive signals the time 
for starting. How do I know it was an American loco- 
motive? I walked to the front of the train to see the 
brand, and am quite sure that "Baldwin Locomotive 
Works, Philadelphia, U. S. A.," is a sufficient guarantee 
of American construction. I was agreeably surprised to 
see the same stamp on the front of our iron horse when 
seven hundred miles and more up the Nile. 

Eleven miles from Jaffa is Lydda, one of the ancient 
cities of Palestine. The Benjaminites occupied it after 
the captivity. In Acts ix, 32-35, it is recorded that "It 
came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, 
he came down to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And 
there he found a certain man named ./Eneas, which had 
kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And 
Peter said unto him, ^Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee 
whole; arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immedi- 
ately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, 
and turned to the Lord." What mighty events these! 
Greater than the building of a Pyramid, a Taj Mahal, or 
a Sphinx. Historic sites ! A fine church dedicated to 
St. George, but now in possession of the Greeks, can be 
seen a considerable distance. A church was erected on 
the same spot by Justinian, but it was destroyed by the 
Saracens. 

Three miles from Lydda is Ramleh, a flourishing little 
city of sixty-five hundred people, having, as most other 
Palestine cities, its quota of Bible associations. Passing 
Ramleh a good view of the Valley of Ajalon is obtained. 
Here Joshua routed the five kings of the Amorites by 



Cairo to Jerusalem. 255 

calling to his aid the Grand Master Workman of the uni- 
verse, who, at Joshua's request, held the sun and moon, 
and prolonged the day thereby, until victory was com- 
plete. "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, 
moon, in the Valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, 
and the moon stayed until the people had avenged them- 
selves upon their enemies." (Josh, x, 12, 13.) 

The dragoman points out Gezer, or rather what is left 
of its ruins. In 1 Kings ix, 16, we are told that "Pharaoh, 
king of Egypt, had gone up and taken Gezer, and burnt 
it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the 
city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solo- 
mon's wife." What use Solomon's wife would make of 
a ruined city I can not conjecture. In India I was pre- 
sented a cane for which I thought I would have no use, 
but it has proven to be priceless in driving away back- 
sheesh pests. 

Among the more important traditional points pointed 
out is the brook from which David secured the pebbles 
used in his sling, the birthplace and tomb of Samson, 
and the place where Noah received the angel. 

At a point five miles from Jerusalem is Bittir Station, 
where the Jews made their last hard fight against the 
Romans. The Talmud asserts that the blood of the Jews 
slain here reached to the breasts of the horses and flowed 
to the sea. I am of the opinion that the brook which 
then coursed through the valley was only crimsoned from 
many wounded horses and soldiers bathing in it. At 
Chickamauga the government has caused an iron plate 
to be set up bearing the words, "Bloody Pond." Because 
the water was made crimson, one is not justified in assert- 
ing that a horse led into it was breast-deep in blood. 

After a ride of three and a half hours across flowering 
plains and through valleys sacredly historic, "down 



256 Around the World. 

brakes" is signaled, and the panting locomotive comes 
to a halt outside the most often destroyed and most often 
rebuilt as well as most sacred city in the world. 

Within one hour I had reached my hotel, and had set 
out alone for a stroll in the city. Entering by the Jaffa 
gate, the most popular of the seven, I made my way 
through the throng of beggars, vendors, and donkeys 
down David Street. Near the center of the walled city 
I ascended two flights of stairs which I saw unused, and 
fed my anxious eyes upon a vision of which I had often 
read, studied, and dreamed. Just before me was the Pool 
of Hezekiah, an immense reservoir two hundred and fifty 
by one hundred and fifty feet, fed by a conduit from 
another pool outside the city. The entire city seemed to 
to lie at my feet. Yonder stood the Mosque of Omar 
and Mosque El Aksa, proudly guarding the temple area 
where the unrivaled Temple of Solomon once stood in all 
its untold grandeur. To my left was the Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher, the most sacred spot on earth to many 
a million. Looking to the east the Mount of Olives 
lifted itself high above the Valley of Jehoshaphat, while 
the Garden of Gethsemane nestled at the parting of the 
ways alongside the sacred mount. 

From the summit of the Great Pyramid I had seen the 
march of history from its infancy, and had reached back 
beyond tradition's grasp ; but here was spread out before 
me the old landmarks which witnessed the mighty scenes 
connected with the life of the Redeemer of men, from 
whose birth all history takes its bearings, whom most men 
revere as the peerless Man, the Son of God. What sacred 
memories crowd in an unbroken succession before the 
mind ! In Genesis xiv, 18, this city was called Salem, the 
City of Melchizedek, until captured by King David, when 
it was called the City of David. Jerusalem was adorned 



Cairo to Jerusalem. 257 

by Solomon until its fame spread throughout the earth 
and the queen of Sheba declared the half had not been 
told. But the glory of Jerusalem arose and fell like a 
barometer that experienced many a storm. During the 
reign of Rehoboam, when the ten tribes were in the state 
of mutiny, the city was besieged and plundered by the 
king of Egypt, Shishak. The city was pillaged by Syr- 
ians, Egyptians, Arabians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and 
Philistines. Josiah being slain at Megiddo in the plain 
of Esdraelon, Pharaoh Necho took Jerusalem, secured the 
tribute demanded, and compelled its king, Jehoahaz, to 
accompany him to Egypt for safe keeping and as a sort 
of assurance that the tribute would be paid annually. 

Jerusalem had about settled down to business in 586 
B. C, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, thought 
he would rather fight than eat, and brought his men of 
war, battering rams, etc., and captured the city, pillaged 
and burned the temple and palaces, leveled the walls to 
the ground, and, not satisfied with taking everything they 
had, went a step farther and carried all the people captive 
to Babylon. 

With the walls down and everything else in utter 
wreck and ruin, this place must have presented a forsaken 
sight. The Jews, however, were not anxious to leave, 
for there is no place like home. After seventy years of 
captivity the Jews were permitted to return; the city and 
temple were rebuilt by Nehemiah, whose men could fight 
as well as work, for "they had a mind to work." 

In 332 the Greeks under Alexander the Great, having 
conquered nearly every other part of the known world, 
decided to take Jerusalem. As Alexander the Great cared 
not for expense or the lives of men, he brought his con- 
quering hosts there and captured the city. The defenders 
of the city doubtless thought it unwise to make a stand 
17 



258 Around the World. 

against a chieftain who had proven victorious in every 
battle, and welcomed him to Jerusalem. Losing no men 
in taking the city, Alexander spared it. Eighteen years 
went by in comparative quiet. Then it was that Ptolemy 
I, king of Egypt, thought it about time to have something 
"doing" about Jerusalem ; consequently he marched his 
hordes here in 314 B. C, and, taking advantage of the 
Jews' Sabbath, besieged it on that day, and took it with- 
out resistance, as the Jews were not disposed to fight on 
such a holy day. Brave people they who would be cap- 
tured by a deadly foe rather than fight against conscience 
and what their law taught them was right. Many were 
carried into captivity, but Jerusalem was soon wrested 
from the Egyptians by the Syrians, who were indescrib- 
ably cruel, causing a revolt of the Maccabees in 168 B. C, 
resulting in the restoration of the Jews to their rightful 
possession of the city under the guardianship of the 
Asmonaean princes. Thus it is seen that Jerusalem has 
been the football of the nations down through the cen- 
turies, kicked and destroyed by Egyptian, Babylonian, 
Assyrian, Persian, and Arabian kings in rapid succession ; 
but. like the phcenix, it seemed to rise anew from its own 
ashes as soon as the last battering-ram ceased its pound- 
ing. Jerusalem, like truth, rises again, though often 
crushed to earth. Though this Jerusalem be destroyed 
again, hope does not vanish, for we are promised a New 
Jerusalem, the Heavenly City, through whose portals 
the destroyer can not pass. 



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XIX. 
JERUSALEM— THE HOLY CITY. 

THE MOST OFTEN DESTROYED AND REBUILT CITY IN THE 
WORED — THE CRUSADES — JEWS' W AILING PLACE — 
CHURCH OE THE HOLY SEPULCHER — MOSQUE OE OMAR 
— GARDEN OE GETHSEMANE. 

In tracing the history of Jerusalem we have observed 
that she has already experienced sufficient vicissitudes 
for a dozen cities, but her record of ill usage seems to be 
without end. In 63 B. C. the Romans decided to mix 
their history with the Jews ; consequently, Pompey set 
out with his legions, led them to the Holy City, captured 
it, and made it tributary to Rome. Afterward Cassus 
plundered the temple, and in 37 B. C. Herod headed a 
Roman army, took the city, and put his competitors to 
death. Herod was noted for his heartlessness. His son 
succeeded him on the throne, but was deposed, where- 
upon Judea became a Roman province in connection 
with Syria, the governor being called a procurator and 
resided at Ctesarea. The fifth procurator was Pontius 
Pilate, who needs no introduction. After Pilate was ban- 
ished, other procurators were appointed, Felix and Festus 
of Bible history being among them. The Jews were dis- 
satisfied, and revolted because of apparent injustices. To 
quell this revolt, Titus, who was in Egypt, set out in 
70 A. D. with his warriors for the purpose of removing 
Jerusalem from the map. 

259 



260 Around the World. 

"As Titus drew near, he stationed his tenth legion 
at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Taking up his station 
about a quarter of a mile from the wall, he cast a trench 
about the city, and compassed it around, and kept it in 
on every side. And soon famine began to do its work 
more effectually than the sword of the Romans. During 
the siege, it is said, one hundred and fifteen thousand 
bodies had been buried in the city at public expense, and 
the Roman general wept as he saw the misery. Titus, 
it was well known, was anxious to save the magnificent 
building (the temple), hallowed by the religious associ- 
ations of so many centuries ; and this may account for the 
slow progess of the victory. But on this fatal evening a 
soldier, against orders, cast a brand into a small gilded 
doorway on the north side, and in a few moments the 
whole temple was in a blaze. Wildly rose the uproar ; 
blazing rafters lighted up the darkness, while all around 
the crackling of the flames and the crashing of the falling 
roofs mingled with the shouts of the victors and the death- 
cry of the Jews. Titus rushed forth, and in vain gave 
orders to stay the conflagration. His soldiers were in the 
holy of holies ; they seized upon the treasures ; not even 
Roman discipline could restrain them, and "the abomi- 
nation of desolation" took possession of the holy place. 
When the flames subsided, nothing was left of the temple 
but a small portion of the outer cloister. The actual de- 
struction of the temple — not one stone left upon another — 
was a death-blow. When the Romans burst, with shouts 
of triumph, into the last stronghold of their enemies, 
they found little but silent streets and houses full of dead 
bodies."* 

Josephus says, "Those who lost their lives in the siege 
and the massacre which had preceded it in this war 

"Cook's Palestine, pp. 75, 76. 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 261 

exceeded one million three hundred thousand people." 
Such a fate should have been expected ; for the prophet 
foresaw what was pending" when he wrote, "How does 
the city sit solitary, that was full of people ; how is she 
become a widow, she that was great among the nations !" 
And in Matthew xxiii, 37, 38, observe the words of the 
world's greatest Christmas Gift : "O Jerusalem, Jeru- 
salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them 
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gath- 
ered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, 
your house is left unto you desolate." 

After Titus had wrecked the city, a Roman garrison 
was left to guard the remains. In spite of the Roman 
lancers the Jews crept back and inhabited the ruins ; for 
to the Jew no spot is home save Jerusalem, the Holy 
City. Bent on having things their own way, the Jews 
rebelled against Hadrian in 134 A. D., only to be expelled 
again. Hadrian then transformed what remained into a 
Roman city, and built magnificent temples and palaces, 
naming it ^Elia Capitolina, one temple being erected to 
Jupiter Capitolinus, on Mount Moriah. In the time of 
Constantine the city was Christian, but in 614 the Jews 
poured into the transformed city in great numbers under 
the leadership of the Persian king Chosroes II, and en- 
deavored to blot out every vestige of the Christian sway 
by destroying churches and putting the inhabitants to the 
sword. After a short interval of peace dearly bought, 
Heraclius captured this football city, but went down be- 
fore the advance of Caliph Omar in 637, who transformed 
it into the sacred city of the Mohammedans. In the place 
of the Jewish and pagan temples on Mount Moriah, he 
built the Mosque of Omar, a splendid structure. In 



262 Around the World. 

the old mosque was demolished, and another more beau- 
tiful and imposing structure was erected in its stead by 
the caliph of Damascus. This mosque stands to this day, 
and is called the Dome of the Rock, though by some it is 
erroneously termed the Mosque of Omar. 

O Jerusalem ! why have the nations coveted you ? 
When you were only a buried heap of rubbish, like Mem- 
phis and Thebes, why did not the powers of earth permit 
you to rest in your grave? Why build and rebuild, cap- 
ture and recapture you? Why so much sought by the 
world's lancers, legions, and charioteers ? Why so popu- 
lar ? Is it not because you occupy the spot of all spots on 
earth selected by the World Builder where the greatest 
events of all history were to be staged ? Was it not here 
that the most momentous event of all ages was to occur — 
the tragedy of the crucifixion of the Son of God? In 
969 A. D. thou didst fall into the hands of the Egyptians, 
who in 1077 lost thee to the Turks. Fom the bloodthirsty 
Turk thou didst suffer untold affliction until the Christian 
world was aroused and decided that such outrageous bar- 
barism should continue no longer. Then, in 1098, from 
out the heart of Europe that first crusade poured itself 
as a mighty living stream bent on rescuing thee from the 
thralldom of the Crescent. 

Commanded by Godfrey de Bouillon, the fearless cru- 
saders from the North captured you, massacred the garri- 
son and many of the inhabitants, and secured possession 
of the Holy Sepulcher, the object of their struggle. God- 
frey was made your king, the first Christian king of 
Jerusalem. His successors maintained your banners on 
high until 1187, when the brave Guy de Lusignan was 
overcome by Saladin and the Mussulman or Moham- 
medan regained the much-coveted city. History weeps 
as it recounts the fearful losses resulting from the at- 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 263 

tempts of courageous men to rescue thee from the wither- 
ing hand of persecutors. 

Though Peter the Hermit perished en route to thy 
sacred shrine ; though men fought under Godfrey de 
Bouillon and Robert of Normandy until their horses waded 
in blood about the mosque, yet thou didst struggle under 
the oppressor's lash. Held by Saladin, the Christian hosts 
of Europe again mustered under Philip of France, Rich- 
ard Cceur de Leon, and the Emperor Frederick Barba- 
rossa, in 1190, to rescue the Holy Sepulcher from the infi- 
del, but the emperor fell ere he reached the promised land, 
while Philip and Richard joined their forces in the cap- 
ture of Acre, besieged Jaffa, and encamped at Lydda. A 
peace council, while permitting the Christians to hold the 
coast fortresses, left thee still in cruel hands, the only 
point gained by the Christians being the privilege of mak- 
ing pilgrimages to thee at intervals. 

In 1 197, behold the emperor of Germany organizing 
a crusade to see that the scales of justice might be used 
in thy management. His attempt proving fruitless, a 
new undertaking under the Germans and Hungarians 
sets out in 1217, but the force of its armament wears itself 
out in Egypt without getting sight of the objective point. 
The pendulum of history swings slowly on till 1228, when 
Frederick II, emperor of Germany, enthused with zeal 
unconquerable, leads an expedition which wrests thee 
from thy oppressors. Peace abides only for a season. 
In 1240 the Mohammedans again appear under the sultan 
of Damascus, and take everything in sight, to lose it again 
three years later to the Christians. But Christians and 
Moslems are overcome in 1244 by a Tartar horde that 
sweeps down from Central Asia. 

Driven from their homes by Genghis Khan, they fall 
upon Christian and Turk, sparing no one in their wild 



264 Around the World. 

fury. These savage legions are driven back beyond the 
Caspian Sea by the Egyptians and Syrians, who unite 
for their own safety. 

The Egyptians and Syrians remain victors for only a 
short time, when the Mohammedans, chiefly from Syria, 
organize and resolve to overcome or die, fall upon the 
city like enraged tigers, and take the holy place from 
which they had been driven many a time. 

In 15 17 the Ottoman sultan, Selim I, took Jerusalem 
and all Syria as well as Egypt. In 1542, Solomon the 
Magnificent rebuilt the walls of the city. Overtaxation 
producing a revolt from the Turkish yoke in 1825, the 
city was bombarded and brought back under the Turkish 
rule. Jerusalem, the historic, the beautiful, the Holy 
City — thy history is not all written. A conqueror will 
some day batter down the masonry of thy Golden Gate, 
and deliver thee from the scepter of the Crescent. 

All Syria became subject to the pasha of Egypt, Me- 
hemet AH, in 1832, and was lost to Turkey in 1840 
through the interference of England, who cannonaded 
Acre and assisted the sultan in holding the territory. 
England ought to beg the pardon of the nations for such 
a caper as that. 

To fully present Jerusalem would require volumes, as 
the city is mentioned eight hundred and eighteen times 
in the Bible. Many of the old sites mentioned in Biblical 
history are located with exactness, while others are pointed 
out as traditional only. 

Being often destroyed, Jerusalem is not what it was. 
The valleys between the four hills upon which the city 
was originally built now contain the wreckage of many a 
former city. The shovel of the excavator has penetrated 
one hundred and thirty feet below the present surface of 
the ground, reaching through a series of buildings one 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 265 

above another, proving that each later city has been lo- 
cated upon the ruins of its predecessor. Facts are worth 
more than theories. These facts almost stagger the mind. 
Were written history blotted out of existence, these facts 
would remain permanently imbedded in mother earth as 
undisputed testimony of the vicissitudes visited upon this 
"city that is compact together." 

In Psalm xlviii, 12, 13, is the following exhortation: 
"Walk about Zion and go round about her; tell the towers 
thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, 
that ye may tell it to the generations following." I made 
a complete circuit of the city alone on foot one morning 
before sunrise, and in the circuit I entered the city through 
each of its open gates. The Jaffa Gate is first, then the 
Zion Gate, the Dung Gate, the Golden Gate (closed), the 
St. Stephen's Gate, the Gate of Herod, the Damascus 
Gate, and the New Gate. When inside the Gate of Herod 
I noticed some steps leading to the top of the wall, and, 
thinking the steps were made for use, I mounted the wall. 
After I had finished my sight-seeing from that height I 
began the descent, only to be confronted with a Turkish 
soldier, who seemed in a furor about something. I soon 
learned that no foreigner was permitted on the walls, lest 
the city might be taken and the Turk ousted. Had I 
taken an American flag with me I might have waved it 
aloft over that Turkish fortress, and, provided with a 
Gatling gun, I might have held it against the entire gar- 
rison ; for I had already scaled the walls without being 
noticed, and was able to clear myself by showing my vic- 
torious cane, while the many-wived, baggy-pantalooned 
soldier under the Crescent had at his command a long- 
barreled musket that might have seen use in punching 
squirrels out of overgrown saplings. Turkey is to me 



266 Around the World. 

a conundrum. She seems to be decidedly opposed to 
progress — even up a wall. 

When people come to market, the tax collector helps 
himself first. If anything is left, the farmer sells it for 
whatever he can get. Should some one discover a spring 
of living water among the hills of his domain, it is im- 
mediately covered to prevent a tax being levied upon it 
by the government. For several years the people about 
Jericho failed to pay their taxes. The sultan sent an 
agent to learn the cash price asked for their land. They 
named a price, which was accepted by the sultan, who, 
presenting his old tax list as so much cash, compelled the 
owners to vacate as the sale was complete. He now has 
an agent in charge who collects two francs (forty cents) 
from each person who visits Jericho, the Jordan, and the 
Dead Sea. A mounted escort accompanies each party to 
the Jordan, and makes sure that each person pays the 
regulation amount. 

I had read much about the Turks, Arabs, and Bed- 
ouins being difficult to get along with, but I am free to 
say that I do not believe a word of such trash. They 
may be quite bothersome to those who are afraid of them. 
Since I have had more than five months' experience with 
the Oriental, I know, or think I know, how to deal with 
him. In spite of what I have read about these people I 
am willing to record that they are as easily managed as 
any other Eastern people. One day, when riding with 
three other persons in a carriage, a fellow demanded back- 
sheesh. I made a quick move as if to step from the car- 
riage to give him the soft side of my cane when he at 
once took to his heels, and did not even look back to see 
if I were coming or slacken his pace until one hundred 
yards away, and then appeared relieved to discover that 
I was not chasine him. 



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Jerusalem — The Holy City. 267 

. The morning I walked around Jerusalem I sat upon 
the tomb in the cemetery near the wall opposite the Gar- 
den of Gethsemane and waited for the sun to rise over 
the Mount of Olives. At 6.50 it rose in all its majesty 
as if it might have sprung out of the Church of the As- 
cension on Olivet. Clouds endeavored to hide it, but 
they were not equal to the task. What a reminder this 
scene was of that other event, the ascension of the Sun 
of righteousness nearly two thousand years ago ! From 
this beautiful scene I looked down in the valley, and there, 
upon the Jericho road leading to Gethsemane, I saw the 
lepers with stumps for arms, hands gone, the back a blotch 
of decay, eyes sunken, bodies distorted and reeking with 
leprous evidence — each crying, "Backsheesh, ya howaja!" 
Near by are others who are not lepers, yet they would 
have you think they are. Clothed in sackcloth or in rags 
used as a begging costume for many years, and handed 
down from generation to generation, they accost you with 
tears — in some cases crocodile tears — each repeating the 
staple words, the oft-heard and never-to-be-forgotten 
words. 

Some families do nothing but beg. I saw a woman 
whipping a little child to compel it to beg. I am informed 
by a man who has resided here ten years that many people 
who are well-to-do dress in begging attire while begging, 
and bedeck themselves with splendid apparel, ride in car- 
riages, and become lords when the begging hours are 
over. So astute are they in preparing themselves in their 
begging garb and simulating poverty that many even de- 
ceive their own acquaintances. No one can give to all, 
nor should one do so, because many are undeserving. 
Whenever a large party is to be here, not only all the 
old beds and carriages are drafted into service, but every 
beggar for miles around presents himself for all he can 



268 Around the World. 

get out of the opportunity. This aggregation of beggars 
thus gives visitors a bad impression of the city. Many 
visitors are pestered, made weary and homesick on ac- 
count of the multitude of begging mortals. Some peo- 
ple evidently think they must give a coin to every one 
that asks, lest a refusal would enrage the natives and 
cause them to be thrown into the Valley of Jehoshaphat 
or otherwise disabled. 

A few days after I arrived in Jerusalem a party of 
more than four hundred Americans arrived under the 
management of F. C. Clark, of New York City. The 
morning after their arrival I was returning from the 
Damascus Gate and saw two members of the party being 
imposed upon. They appeared unable to take their own 
part, whereupon I came to their relief, scattered their 
adversaries, and was looked upon most gratefully by the 
newly-arrived Americans as their deliverer. 

The population of Jerusalem is an unknown quantity. 
The same may be said of almost any Turkish and Chinese 
city. Estimates vary from sixty thousand to seventy- 
five thousand, of which forty thousand are said to be 
Jews. 

One of the very oldest landmarks in Jerusalem is 
the citadel, a part of which is called the Tower of David, 
standing to the right of the Jaffa Gate. The upper part 
has been often destroyed and rebuilt, but the lower part 
is old enough to deserve the appellation ancient. When 
Jesus walked the streets this tower was a silent monster. 
Alongside this tower a breach was made in the wall in 
1898 for the special purpose of permitting the German 
emperor to enter the city in a carriage. It is now used 
as much as the original Jaffa Gate entrance. The Jaffa 
Gate is never closed ; for what would be gained by clos- 
ing it when a larger opening is close by? Entering the 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 269 

walled city here, the thoroughfare directly ahead is David 
Street, which descends rapidly, terrace after terrace. 

Zion Street begins near the Jaffa Gate, and leads to 
Zion Gate on the summit of Mount Zion. David took 
this height, and "David dwelt in the fort and called it 
the City of David." (2 Sam. v, 9.) 

Every one visits the Church of St. James, located on 
Zion Street, for it is here tradition declares James was 
beheaded. "Herod the king stretched forth his hands 
to vex certain of the Church, and he killed James, the 
brother of John, with the sword." (Acts xii, 2.) 

Near the Zion Gate is a ruin called the Palace of 
Caiaphas, containing, according to Greek tradition, the 
prison of Christ and the stone which was rolled away 
from the sepulcher by the angels. The stone is circular, 
and is about the right size to have been used at the mouth 
of the sepulcher under Gordon's Golgotha, but I am by 
no means a convert to Gordon's theory. 

I entered the prison cell, and consider it built for 
the purpose of being used as a dungeon. Everything 
has its place here. The place where the cock stood 
when it gave evidence against Peter is marked by a 
pillar. 

Near this spot is the tomb of David. The kings of 
Judah "slept with their fathers, and were buried in the City 
of David." The next room to the tomb is the Ccenaculum, 
or Chamber of the Last Supper. The room is fifty by 
thirty feet. By a liberal use of imagination the very 
spot where the table stood and where Jesus sat has been 
indicated, and is pointed out to every visitor. Beyond 
the fact that this is the traditional site there is nothing 
to indicate its preferment except that it is "a large upper 
room." (Mark xiv, 16.) Here, it is believed, Peter 
preached the sermon recorded in Acts ii, 14-36. Being 



270 Around the World. 

the next room to the tomb of David and connected there- 
with by a small opening, intended no doubt to be used 
in watching the royal sarcophagus, Peter could well 
have used the words of the twenty-ninth verse, "And 
his sepulcher is with us unto this day." 

I shall not forget the sight presented at the Jews' 
Wailing Place. Here the Jews assemble to weep over 
the destruction of the temple. Blocks of marble four 
by fifteen feet, a part of the celebrated wall, call them 
hither; for at this point they are sure of coming in con- 
tact with the old Jewish work. No mortar was used, 
and the huge blocks fit so perfectly that a piece of paper 
can not be inserted between the courses. Many a Jew 
has come here with hammer and nails, and, partly by 
drilling, has succeeded in driving a few nails into the 
marble in order to be able to boast of having added some- 
thing to the original wall. Such a sort of weeping and 
wailing I never saw or heard before. They stand and 
kiss the walls as fast as they possibly can, then mourn- 
fully mumble something which is, of course, unintelligi- 
ble to me. Some have copies of the Hebrew Psalter in 
hand, from which they read as they move to and fro 
like an old-fashioned country boy speaking his first piece 
on Friday afternoon while the big girls laugh, until 
their turn to speak comes, when they forget, and, to pass 
away the time more pleasantly, get red in the face and 
pucker their gingham aprons on either side, as if pre- 
paring to wade in deep water. 

Many people visit the Jews' Wailing Place on Friday, 
but others prefer Saturday morning, because there is 
usually a larger number of Jews engaged in the business 
on Saturday, and, further, because the Jew has so much 
reverence for the day (his Sunday or Sabbath) that he 
will not make life miserable for his observers by plying 



Jerusalem — The Holy City, 27 1 

his begging tactics. Jerusalem has three Sundays or 
holy days each week, some observing Friday, some Sat- 
urday, and still others Sunday. Counting these Sun- 
days, I am told that Jerusalem has two hundred and fifty 
holidays, feast days, and holy days each year, enough 
to swamp an empire. 

Near the Wailing Place is the beginning of an arch 
which once connected the city of Zion with the temple. 
It is named Robinson's Arch in honor of its discoverer, 
who is an American. 

Many pilgrims seemingly delight in walking up and 
down the Via Dolorosa, the street Christ is supposed 
to have trod bearing the heavy cross. It leads by the 
government house, Pilate's judgment hall, to the Church 
of the Holy Sepulcher. Fourteen stations are marked 
along this traditional street of pain, indicating the sites 
of the various incidents connected with that eventful 
day. The first mark is at the barracks ; the second is 
where the cross was laid upon Christ. Near here is the 
Ecce Homo Arch, indicating the spot where the Roman 
governor said, "Behold the Man." (John xix, 5.) The 
Church of the Sisters of Zion is close, and should be 
visited, as its basement contains the original, Roman 
pavement with marks of chariot wheels made in the time 
of Christ. Further down the street is the Church of 
Notre Dame, near which is the third mark, where Christ 
is said to have fallen under the weight of the cross. This 
point is also near the traditional house of Lazarus, the 
poor man. Still further is the fourth station, where 
Jesus met his mother. The house of Dives, the rich 
man, is next pointed out. Stones of various colors are 
the materials out of which this house was built. The 
fifth station marks the site where Simon of Cyrene took 
the cross from Christ, because He was no longer able 



272 Around the World. 

to carry it. Other markings indicate where Christ is 
said to have leaned as He rested from the burden ; where 
He fell the second time; where He addressed the women 
who accompanied him; where He sank the third time 
under the weight of the cross. The remaining points 
are within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. One indi- 
cates where the Son of man was disrobed ; where He 
was nailed to the cross ; where the cross was raised ; 
where he was taken down from the cross ; and the last 
one is by the Holy Sepulcher. 

Let us enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built 
by the crusaders in 1103 to inclose the older chapels. I 
visited it time and again, and I trust that you are suffi- 
ciently interested in this most sacred place of all the 
earth to accompany me as I endeavor to lead you. This 
church is a series of buildings joined together in one. 
On entering the building we approach the stone of unc- 
tion upon which Christ was laid for the anointing when 
taken from the cross. This rock is kissed by thousands 
as they come and go. The real stone or slab is concealed 
by a slab of marble, as the incessant kissing would in 
time wear it away ; hence it is half-soled on the upper 
part as a means of protection. 

Candelabra and a variety of lamps hang above the 
stone. Though this part belongs to the Latins, they 
permit the Armenians, Greeks, and Copts to join them 
in providing lamps and holding the spot sacred. To 
the northwest is a railing inclosing a stone marking the 
spot where Mary stood while the body of Jesus was be- 
ing anointed, and where she stood watching the tomb. 
Just before us is the rotunda, sixty-five feet in diameter, 
in the center of which stands the Holy Sepulcher within 
a small chapel eighteen feet broad and twenty-six feet 
long, built of marble. A low doorway leads to it through 




The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. 

(Built over Mount Calvary and the Tomb of Christ.) 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 273 

a vestibule six by seven feet inside measure. In the 
center of the chapel is a stone set in marble, said to be 
part of the one the angel rolled away. Here fifteen 
lamps are kept burning, five belonging to the Greeks, 
five to the Latins, four to the Armenians, and one to the 
Copts. Passing the Angels' Chapel we enter the sepul- 
cher proper, which is about six feet square, containing 
the marble sarcophagus shown as the tomb of Christ. 
Only four people can enter at one time, and many here 
weep, kneel, and pray most fervently. A soldier stands 
in this small chapel from morning till night to protect 
this sacred place from the relic-hunter and hand of the 
despoiler. 

To the north of the sepulcher is a Latin vestibule con- 
taining inlaid marble slabs surrounding a central stone, 
where Mary Magdalene is said to have stood when Jesus 
said to her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" and "she, 
supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, If 
thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast 
laid Him, and I will take Him away." (John xx, 15.) 

Entering the Church of the Latins, we notice the 
Chapel of the Apparition, where Jesus appeared to Mary 
after His resurrection. Connected with the Latin Church 
is the sacristy, where the sword and spurs of Godfrey de 
Bouillon are shown. With this sword, which I was 
permitted to handle, he is said to have cut a giant Sara- 
cen in two. This sword is used to girt the Knights of 
St. John when introduced to that order. The prison 
and bonds of Christ are shown, also the Chapel of the 
Division of the Vestments. "And when they had cruci- 
fied Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon 
them what every man should take." (Mark xv, 24.) 
Descending twenty-nine steps the Armenian Chapel of 
Helena is reached, and thirteen steps more brings us to 
18 



274 



Around the World. 



the Chapel of the Finding- of the Cross. Retracing our 
steps, we are led to the Greek Chapel of the Crown of 
Thorns. "The soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and 
placed it on His head, and they put on Him a purple 
robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews ! and they smote 
Him with their hands." (John xix, 2, 3.) 

Ascending a flight of eighteen steps, we arrive at 
Calvary, the upper Chapel of the Crucifixion, which is 
fourteen and one-half feet above the Chapel of the Holy 
Sepulcher. "And when they were come to the place, 
which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and 
the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on 
the left." (Luke xxiii, 33.) Three holes are pointed 
out as the sockets for the three crosses. Under Calvary 
is the Chapel of Golgotha, the word Golgotha meaning 
a skull. Near the altar on Calvary is a long brass cover 
over a rent in the rock, said to have been made at the 
time of the crucifixion. "The earth did quake, and the 
rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies 
of the saints which slept, arose." (Matt, xxvii, 51, 52.) 
Near by is the Latin Chapel of St Mary, said to be the 
spot where Mary and the disciple stood at the time of 
the crucifixion, when the following conversation took 
place : "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His 
mother, and His mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Cleo- 
phas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw 
His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He 
loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy 
son. Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother. 
And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own 
home." (John xix, 25-27.) 

Concerning the Church of the Holy Sepulcher I shall 
not multiply particulars. That it occupies the original 
site I have no doubt whatever. General Gordon came 




The Holy Sepulchre. 

Entrance to the Chapel of the Angels, leading to the tomb, being appa- 
rently almost blocked by a marble pedestal bearing a piece of 
stone believed to be a fragment from the original stone 
which was rolled away by the angels. ) 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 2,7 5 

here not many years ago, evidently desiring- notoriety, 
and set out to find another Golgotha. The place selected 
by him is outside the city walls. A tomb called the Gar- 
den Tomb is at its base, which I gave a thorough ex- 
amination, as I did the Holy Sepulcher. The task of 
discerning in Gordon's Golgotha a likeness to a skull 
puts the imagination to a severe test. In short, I am of 
the opinion that the place was selected more because it 
was outside the wall than because it resembled a skull. 

Many people come here and accept the Gordon Gol- 
gotha in a moment, considering it to be the true site, 
and present their arguments therefor as conclusive, defy- 
ing contradiction. Upon this hill many a clergyman 
stands, reads the Bible narrative, and is satisfied that 
Gordon was right. The arguments in its favor are, that 
it is higher than its competitor ; it is outside the present 
Damascus Gate ; it has a rock tomb at its base in a gar- 
den; it is near the Jericho road, and could have been 
witnessed by a large concourse of people ; and the imag- 
ination may observe its resemblance to a huge skull. 
But, to my mind, the arguments for the site covered by 
the church are the weightier. However, literal accuracy 
is not claimed for the various points shown in the church. 
Many of them are chosen as simply commemorative of 
the events with which they are associated. No one 
would be foolish enough to claim that Mary actually 
stood at any particular spot as she observed the tragedy 
of centuries — Christ on the cross. One should remem- 
ber that these points are chosen as likely only, without 
laying claim to literal accuracy. Approaching with such 
a spirit, much can be overlooked. 

Since a section of the old wall and the old Damascus 
Gate have been recently unearthed, it is proven con- 
clusively that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is out- 



276 Around the World. 

side the original wall, though within the present walled 
area. This makes the site of the Holy Sepulcher accord 
with Scripture. "Wherefore Jesus also, that He might 
sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without 
the gate." (Heb. xiii, 12.) 

"The place where Jesus was crucified was nigh unto 
the city." (John xix, 20.) "Now in the place where 
He was crucified there was a garden ; and in the garden 
was a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. 
There laid they Jesus therefore, because of the Jews' 
preparation day ; for the sepulcher was nigh at hand." 
(John xix, 42.) 

Since the discovery of the aforesaid wall and gate 
there is less argument against the site. Tradition de- 
clares it to be the site. Position speaks for it with all 
its might. Godfrey de Bouillon, the first Christian king 
of Jerusalem, favored this site, as did Baldwin, his suc- 
cessor. The Princess Helena came here in 330 A. D. 
with thirty of the able scholars of the day, who searched 
everywhere and decided on the site occupied by the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. What more evidence 
would any one demand than that afforded by the union 
of tradition and position, together with the corroborative 
testimony of the excavator's shovel ? Among the ardent 
supporters of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as the 
true site of Calvary are the following eminent author- 
ities : Buckingham, Schick, Schubert, Elliott, Williams, 
Lewin, Willis, and Gray. A spirit of reverence seizes 
upon both saint and sinner as they approach this sacred 
shrine where millions have worshiped, believing that 
here the Son of God was crucified, that here He was 
buried, and that this spot witnessed that most tremen- 
dous of all events known to history, — the resurrection of 
the Sun of righteousness. 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 377 

With the one exception of the Church of the Holy 
Sepulcher, no other building is of such interest as the 
Dome of the Rock, though it belongs to the Moham- 
medans. 

"Where once stood the temple designed by King Da- 
vid, and executed by Solomon, rebuilt and restored by 
Zerubbabel and Herod, is now the Moslem shrine called 
the "Dome of the Rock," but sometimes erroneously called 
the Mosque of Omar. It occupies a part of the spacious 
area known as the Haram Esh-Sherif, "The Noble Sanc- 
tuary," and stands on a raised platform or terrace. 

The Dome of the Rock stands upon the summit of 
Mount Moriah — tradition says on the very spot where 
Oman had his threshing floor; where Abraham offered 
up Isaac ; where David interceded for the plague-stricken 
people ; and where the Jewish temple, the glory of Israel, 
stood. No one can stand before this magnificent build- 
ing, with its colored tiles and marbles glistening in the 
sunlight, as once the goodly stones of the temple shone 
before the eyes of the disciples, and not be moved with 
strong emotion. One's thoughts rush away to the past, 
when psalmists wrote and patriots sung of the temple's 
glory. Hither the tribes came up ; here shone forth the 
light of the Shekinah ; here was the center of the re- 
ligious, the poetical, and the political life of God's chosen 
nation. And then one thinks of the defeats and disasters 
consequent upon disobedience ; how glory after glory 
vanished, until alien powers desolated and utterly de- 
stroyed the holy place. One thinks of devout Jews in 
every land, oppressed and burdened, turning towards 
this sacred site, and remembering it with tears as they 
pray for restoration to their land. Above all, the Chris- 
tian thinks of the little Child presented in its court by 
the Holy Mother; of the Youth asking and answering 



2J& Around the World. 

questions ; the Divine Man, "teaching and preaching the 
things concerning Himself."* It is surrounded by a wall 
1,601 feet long on the west, 1,530 feet on the east, 1,024 
on the north, and 922 on the south. Entering by the 
main gate, we have on the right hand the Mosque El- 
Aksa, and before us are steps leading up to the Dome 
of the Rock. The building has eight sides, each sixty- 
eight feet long, and four doors to the north, south, east, 
and west. The whole is covered with richly-colored por- 
celain tiles, and a frieze of tiles runs round the whole 
building, upon which are written passages from the 
Koran. 

The interior of the Dome of the Rock is gloomy, 
and sometimes so dark that one should wait until the 
eye grows accustomed to it. It has two cloisters, sep- 
arated by an octagonal course of piers and twelve Corin- 
thian columns, which support the great dome. The 
thirty-six stained-glass windows, which are of a great 
brilliancy and beauty, date from the fifteenth century. 
The arches are covered with glass mosaics, over which 
are inscribed portions of the Koran, as on the outer 
walls of the building, and these are dated 692 A. D. The 
dome is ninety-eight feet high and seventy-five in diame- 
ter, and is composed of wood. It was restored by Sala- 
din in 1189 A. D. 

The sacred rock is immediately beneath the dome. It 
is a bare, rugged, unhewn piece of rock about sixty feet 
long and forty-five wide. The rock stands four feet six 
and one-half inches above the marble pavement at its 
highest point, and one foot its lowest. 

Many legends hang about the rock. Here, accord- 
ing to the Jews, Melchizedek offered sacrifice, Abraham 
brought his son Isaac as an offering, and the Ark of the 



*Cook's Palestine, pp. 94, 95. 



z 







Jerusalem — The Holy City. 2 70 

Covenant stood. Descending by eleven steps we enter 
the cave below the rock, which has an average height of 
six feet. 

I have seen finer buildings, but none having so many 
sacred associations as this, which is second only to the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. If all else associated with 
this mosque were removed, that historic rock would af- 
ford sufficient interest to call hither earth's pilgrims. 

Having devoted considerable space to the great 
mosque, I shall omit a description of the lesser mosque 
known as Mosque El-Aksa. A visit to it should by no 
means be omitted by the visitor. At this mosque, as 
well as in almost every place hallowed with sacred memo- 
ries, places are pointed out by the dragoman that are as 
absurd as impossible ; such as the footprints of certain 
historic characters made in the rock. Irresponsible as 
well as ignorant dragomans do much harm by perpetuat- 
ing such childlike vagaries. Guide-books are primarily 
to be blamed ; for guides finding such references in guide- 
books, delight to keep these stories afloat, thinking they 
will please tourists. 

Leaving the mosque, I descended by thirty-two steps 
to the vaulted chamber where Simon dwelt, and on far- 
ther to Solomon's stables, a vast cavern of vaulted and 
pillared avenues. "Solomon had forty thousand stalls 
of horses for his chariots." (1 Kings iv, 26.) The 
Knights Templars used these vaults as stables. The 
rings to which their horses were tied are still shown. 
Not a piece of wood can be observed in what is called 
Solomon's stables, being built and arched over with rock. 

Outside the wall of Jerusalem is the Valley of Jehosh- 
aphat, or Kidron, where the Jews and the Moslems 
bury their dead,, for they want to be near at hand when 
the world is judged. "Let the heathen be wakened and 



280 Around the World. 

come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I 
sit to judge all the heathen round about." (Joel iii, 12.) 
"I will gather all nations and bring them down into the 
valley of Jehoshaphat." A later name for this valley is 
Kidron. The Mohammedans have borrowed this valley 
and also regard it as the scene of the last judgment. 

Near the garden of Gethsemane a road branches into 
the valley and passes the tomb of Absalom. This tomb 
is nineteen feet square and twenty-one feet high. On 
account of Absalom's disobedience the Jews, on passing 
this point, seldom fail to hurl stones at the tomb. The 
second time I encircled the city, I rode a donkey. A 
donkey-driver always accompanies each person to keep 
the donkey in the notion of making more than snail 
time by the copious use of a raw persuader. On reach- 
ing Absalom's tomb a stone was hurled into the tomb. 
I dismounted (which brought my cap only slightly 
nearer terra firma), and clambered about the tomb and 
found the interior nearly full of stones and pebbles thrown 
thither by irate Jews. The front of the tomb is much 
worn by centuries of rock hurling. 

Behind the tomb of Absalom is the tomb of Jehosha- 
phat. A few yards further down the valley is the Grotto 
of St. James, a grotto containing shaft tombs. Close 
by is the Pyramid of Zacharias, which, like the tomb of 
Absalom, is hewn in the solid rock. It is sixteen feet 
square and twenty-nine feet high. Here are many rock 
tombs, beyond which is the village of Siloah. A mono- 
lith at the village entrance bears the inscription, "Tomb 
of Pharaoh's Daughter." 

Between the village and the city wall is St. Mary's 
Well, sometimes called the Fountain of the Virgin. Two 
flights of steps lead down to it, twenty-nine steps in all. 
Inside it is ten by eleven feet. Being outside the wall it 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 281 

was concealed to prevent Jerusalem's many enemies from 
finding it and poisoning the water supply of the city. 
From St. Mary's Well a channel, cut through solid rock, 
probably by Hezekiah, leads to the Pool of Siloam, the 
well and the pool being 1,728 feet apart. This sacred 
pool is fifty-three by eighteen feet and nineteen feet deep. 
"He anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay, and 
said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. He went 
his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." (John 
ix, 6, 7.) The King's Garden was here mentioned by 
Nehemiah (iii, 15) as being "near the pool of Siloah." 
My donkey was glad to stand tied loose here while I 
descended into the aqueduct cut by Hezekiah 700 B. C. 
There is much controversy as to the Pool of Gihon. 
Many identify it with the pool west of the Jaffa Gate, 
which is connected with the Pool of Hezekiah by an 
aqueduct passing under the city wall near the Jaffa Gate. 

The Valley of Hinnom lies between Zion and the Hill 
of Evil Counsel. It was here that children were once 
sacrificed to Moloch. (Jer. xii, 3152 Kings xxiii, 10.) 

Leaving Jerusalem by the Damascus Gate, we reach 
the Tombs of the Kings, a short distance to the north. 
These catacombs, hewn from the solid rock, have some 
well-preserved circular stones, such as must have been 
used at the tomb of Christ, and should be visited if for 
no other purpose than to observe this one point. Jose- 
phus has much to say about these catacombs, to whom 
and to other works on the subject I refer my readers for 
particulars should they delight in preparing to dream 
about rock-hewn cities of the dead. 

Near the St. Stephen's Gate is the Church of St. 
Anne, founded in the sixth century, rebuilt in the twelfth, 
turned into a school by Saladin, and presented in 1856 
by the sultan to the French emperor, Napoleon III. It 



282 Around the World. 

is supposed to mark the dwelling-place of St. Anne, the 
mother of the Virgin ; and is regarded as the birthplace 
of the Holy Mother and the burial-place of her father, 
Joachim. Near this place is the Pool of Bethesda, called 
the "Inner Pool." Here it was that the impotent man 
having no man, when the water was toubled, to put him 
into the pool, received those never-to-be-forgotten words 
from Christ, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." (John 
v, 1-9.) Oriental travel will make plain to one the state- 
ment, "take up thy bed." I am reasonably sure that I 
can walk up Pike's Peak with all the beds required for 
the accommodation of half a dozen Orientals. 

Near the Damascus Gate is the Grotto of Jeremiah, 
where, tradition claims, he wrote the Book of Lamen- 
tations, and where he was buried. Just opposite the 
Grotto of Jeremiah are Solomon's Quarries, where the 
stone used in building the temple was secured. "The 
house, when it was building, was built of stone made 
ready before it was brought thither, so that neither ham- 
mer nor ax, nor any tool of iron was heard in the house 
while it was building." (1 Kings vi, 7.) 

Shall we visit the Mount of Olives, that elevation 
sacred to every one? Here it is I love to linger. Visit- 
ing it day after day, its charm increases its grasp upon 
me. Mount of Olives, I love you. Here Christ was 
wont to linger. Here He crossed time and again, going 
from Bethany to Jerusalem. In this garden at my feet 
He shed tears and sweat drops of blood ; but the people 
would not do and be what He yearned to have them do 
and be. Here was sung that first Christian hymn of de- 
votion, "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He 
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, peace, 
glory in the highest !" And as He passed down toward 
Jerusalem, it is easy to determine to one's satisfaction 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 283 

where He, "when He beheld the city, wept over it. 7 ' De- 
scribing this point Stanley wrote: "Immediately below 
was the Valley of the Kidron, here seen in its greatest 
depth as it joins the Valley of Hinnom, and thus giving 
full effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem seen only 
on its eastern side, its situation as of a city rising out of 
a deep abyss." 

On the summit of Olivet is a church sometimes called 
the Church of the Ascension, as it stands at the tradi- 
tional site from which Christ ascended to heaven. This 
building, though in possession of the Moslems, has prayer 
recesses for the Armenians, Copts, Syrians, and Greeks. 
From the minaret a splendid view is obtainable, embrac- 
ing Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bethany, the Jordan, and 
Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is visible from the summit 
of the mount without ascending the minaret. 

The Latins possess several important posts on the 
Mount of Olives. One is the Church of the Creed, where 
the Apostles' Creed was supposed to have been prepared. 
Near the Church of the Creed is the Church of the Lord's 
Prayer, the traditional site where Christ taught the dis- 
ciples the Lord's Prayer. Here the Lord's Prayer is 
carved upon slabs of marble in thirty-two languages. 
These slabs are hung like so many pictures upon the 
wall of the interior. Here I am reminded that the Bible 
is in the world as a permanent institution, and that if 
every Bible were burned, its teachings would remain, 
as every verse from Genesis to Revelation has been 
quoted and copied in books, making it possible to re- 
produce it from the world's libraries. 

Among the many points of great interest about the 
Mount of Olives is the Chapel of the Tomb of the Vir- 
gin. This chapel is reached by descending a flight of 
forty-seven marble steps. The only part of the church 



284 Around the World. 

above ground is the porch. Numerous lamps are kept 
burning in the several wings. The guide points out 
Joseph's tomb, the sarcophagus of Mary, the altars of 
the Greeks, Armenians, Abyssinians, and the recess of 
the Moslems. South of the Tomb of the Virgin is the 
Garden of Gethsemane, comprising about one-third of 
an acre, surrounded by a stone wall, and in possession 
of the Latins. The Franciscans keep the gate, having 
the lock and key in their possession. I shall never for- 
get my sojourn in this garden, hallowed by the most 
sacred associations. "When Jesus had spoken these 
words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook 
Kidron, where was a garden, into which He entered and 
His disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed Him, knew 
the place ; for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His 
disciples." (John xviii, I, 2.) 

"Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called 
Gethsemane, and saith to His disciples, Sit ye here, while 
I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter 
and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful 
and very heavy. Then said He unto them, My soul is 
exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death ; tarry ye here, 
and witch with Me. And He went a little farther, and fell 
on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be 
possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not 
as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He cometh unto His 
disciples and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, 
What, could ye not watch with Me one hour? Watch 
and pray that ye enter not into temptation : the spirit 
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

"After He had prayed the second and third time, find- 
ing them asleep on each return, He said : Sleep on now, 
and take your rest : behold, the hour is at hand, and the 
Son of man is betraved into the hands of sinners. Rise, 




Russian Greek Church on the Mount of Olives. 

(The Garden of Gethsemane lying between this Church 

and the Wall of Jerusalem. ) 



Jerusalem — The Holy City. 285 

let us be going : behold, he is at hand that doth betray 
Me." (Matt, xxvi, 36-46.) 

It may well be said of this place, "Take off thy shoes 
from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest 
is holy ground." 

Just over the brow of the hill is Bethany, the home 
of Mary and Martha, where Jesus delighted to visit, 
doubtless because there He was most welcome. "Now, 
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus." (John 
xi, 5.) Here it was that He raised Lazarus from the 
dead. I visited the tomb of Lazarus by descending twen- 
ty-five steps cut in the rock. "Now, Bethany was nigh 
unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off [two miles]. 
Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was com- 
ing, went and met Him ; but Mary sat still in the house." 
(John xi, 18-20.) 

Men have been so sure about positions that they have 
even erected a splendid church upon the spot where 
Martha is supposed to have met Jesus. The home of 
Mary and Martha is now a ruin. Olive-trees are almost 
everywhere. Those within the inclosure of the Garden of 
Gethsemane appear old enough to have been here when 
'time was young, but experts are authority for the state- 
ment that one of eight is at least one thousand years old, 
and doubtless sprang from the roots of a tree that flour- 
ished in the time of Christ. 



XX. 

JERUSALEM TO JERICHO AND BETHLEHEM. 

JERICHO, THE "CITY OF PALM-TREES" ELISHA's SPRING 

RUINS OF THE ANCIENT CITY — DEAD SEA AND THE 

JORDAN — SODOM AND GOMORRAH BETHLEHEM, THE 

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY — RACHEl/S TOMB THE 

LAND OF BOAZ AND RUTH. 

Leaving Jerusalem via the Garden of Gethsemane 
and Bethany, the road to Jericho is traversed. No one 
could get lost on this road, as no roads branch from it. 
Traveling to Jericho we pass the Apostles' Spring, an- 
ciently called En-Shemish, Spring of the Sun, on the 
boundary between Judah and Benjamin. (Joshua xv, 7.) 

The next point of importance is the traditional scene 
of the parable of the Good Samaritan, who rescued the 
person who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho 
and fell among thieves. Further eastward the road leads 
alongside the brook Cherith, where Elijah was fed by the 
ravens. "Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and 
hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 
And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I 
have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." (1 
Kings xvii, 3, 4.) 

A monastery has been built down by the rippling 
water between the towering rocks where Elijah is sup- 
posed to have spent the time of his waiting. 

Descending the hill before Jericho, we pass the Pool 
286 



Jerusalem to Jericho and Bethlehem. ggy 

of Moses, whose walls are of unhewn stones. This pool 
is five hundred and sixty-four by four hundred and sev- 
enty-one feet, and belonged to a system which once made 
this valley to blossom like a vast garden, but which is now 
almost barren. One writer says, "This is perhaps the re- 
mains of a pool constructed by Herod near his palace at 
Jericho; for this, it appears, is the site of the Jericho of 
the New Testament." 

In Deuteronomy xxxiv, 3, Jericho is called "the city 
of palm-trees." Once it was the chief city of Canaan, 
but is now nothing but a mound of ruins. Its beauty 
has departed, and the once mighty city is now only a 
heap. During the night spent at the hotel near this an- 
cient greatness, I heard the jackals barking as they 
prowled about seeking something to satisfy their crav- 
ing hunger. Dogs barked almost incessantly to keep 
them company ; but so common are they that neither paid 
much attention to the .other. Historic place ! Here it 
was that the spies came; yonder Rahab's house stood 
upon the wall. "Then she let them [the spies] down by 
a cord through the window, for her house was upon the 
town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall." (Josh, ii, 15.) 
About those ruins Joshua's army went for seven days, 
until, at the blast of trumpets, "the walls of Jericho fell 
down flat." Then the city was burned, and Joshua, look- 
ing back toward it, said, "Cursed be the man before the 
Lord, that riseth and buildeth this city Jericho." (Josh, 
vi, 26.) 

Herod undertook to rebuild it, and received the curse. 
Elijah spent his last days at Jericho, and crossed the 
Jordan with Elisha, only to be parted from him and 
ascend to heaven by a whirlwind. (2 Kings ii, 1-11.) 

The groves and gardens of this city were once cele- 
brated for their beauty, and when Cleopatra wanted to 



288 Around the World. 

make her lover, Mark Antony, a present, she gave him 
these groves and gardens. 

Here is the spring which Elisha healed. "And the 
men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, 
the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth ; 
but the water is naught and the ground is barren. And 
he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And 
they brought it to him. And he went forth into the 
spring of the waters, and cast salt in there, and said, 
Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters : there 
shall not be from thence any more dead or barren land. 
So the waters were healed unto this day, according to 
the saying of Elisha which he spake." (2 Kings ii, 19-22.) 

The water gushes forth, providing the Bedouins 
about here with health-giving fluid. Climbing the hill 
by this spring the ruins are reached. If the sultan would 
permit this mound to be thoroughly excavated, much of 
interest to Bible students and the world at large might 
be brought to light. To the west of old Jericho stands 
Ouarantania, a precipitous mountain, the traditional site 
of Christ's temptation. (Matt, iv, 8.) 

Jericho has a population of about three hundred peo- 
ple, who look forsaken, though no more forsaken than 
the land they occupy. 

A tower was erected at Jericho for the purpose of 
protecting the crops from invading Bedouins, and tradi- 
tion claims that the house of Zacchseus stood where this 
tower now stands. "And Jesus entered and passed 
through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named 
Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and 
he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who He was ; 
and could not for the press, because he was little of stat- 
ure. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycamore 
tree to see Him : for He was to pass that way." (Luke 
xix, 1-4.) 



Jerusalem to Jericho and Bethlehem. 289 

Among the points overflowing with interest about 
here is the Dead Sea, called in Deuteronomy (iv, 49), 
the Sea of the Plain; in (iii, 17), it is called the Salt Sea, 
and in Joshua (xii, 3) it is named the East Sea. Leg- 
ends clustering about it procured for it the name Dead 
Sea, although the Arabs continue to call it the Sea of 
Lot. Here Lot chose for himself a home. (Gen. xiii, 
12.) Here the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled and 
fell, and somehow I am impressed that west and north 
of the Dead Sea, where destruction seems to have played 
its part well, those cities of the plain once stood which 
were too full of wickedness to deserve further existence. 
"The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- 
stone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; and He 
overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the in- 
habitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the 
ground." (Gen. xix, 24, 25.) 

Somewhere about this historic place Lot's wife became 
a pillar of salt, and I am sure I would have become a 
second one if I had remained in the Dead Sea much 
longer. After swimming and floating in the heavy water 
until well pickled, I drove to the Pilgrim's bathing-place 
a few miles up the Jordan, the traditional site of Christ's 
baptism, and hiring a boat and boatman for a franc, went 
out into the sacred river. A large tree, having become 
uprooted by the heavy rains and high water, had fallen 
into the river close by. Mooring the boat alongside it, 
I hung my clothes on the limbs and plunged into the 
Jordan. So deep was the river that I could not touch 
bottom, and so rapid was the current that I could not 
swim up stream, and was forced to pursue the back track 
to the boat or be carried by the rushing water down 
into the Dead Sea. Any one who has ridden a camel 
in Egypt sixteen miles or more, and within two weeks 
19 



290 



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has bathed in the Dead Sea and two hours later in the 
soothing, non-irritating waters of the Jordan, is not par- 
ticularly anxious to renew his acquaintance with that 
semi-nitric-acid, buoyant body of water to the southward. 
Beware of the epidermis enemy, the camel, at least a 
fortnight prior to swimming in the Dead Sea. 

It is estimated that six million tons of water flow 
into the Dead Sea daily, and since there is no outlet other 
than by evaporation, it is reasonable to suppose that 
this is a hot country. The Dead Sea is reputed to be the 
lowest body of water in the world, the average depth 
being 1,080 feet. Analysis shows that about 25 per cent 
of the water is solid substance, 7 per cent being chloride 
of sodium (common salt). Chloride of magnesium is 
found, being sufficiently plentiful to cause one to remem- 
ber its taste. 

The Jordan River is as crooked as the most crooked 
crook. The distance from the Sea of Galilee is only sixty 
miles, yet that river corkscrews jts way a distance of two 
hundred miles in making the tour, and falls six hundred 
feet. 

The many sacredly historic associations clustering 
about the Jordan makes it to Christians what the Nile is 
to the Egyptians, the Ganges to the Hindus, and the 
Yangste-Kiang to the Chinese. "Lot lifted up his eyes, 
and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well wat- 
ered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord." (Gen. 
xiii, J.O.) "And the people passed over right against 
Jericho." (Joshua iii, 17.) Naaman was here cured 
of leprosy. (2 Kings v.) "Then went out to Him 
Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about 
Jordan, and were baptized of Him in Jordan, confessing 
their sins." (Matt, iii, 5, 6.) 

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto 



Jerusalem to Jericho and Bethlehem. 291 

John, to be baptized of him. And Jesus, when He was 
baptized, went up straightway out of the water : and, lo, 
the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon 
Him ; and, lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is My 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt, iii, 
13, 16, 17.) 

One can not visit these historic places without recall- 
ing the events that combined to make them sacred. 

Five or six miles from Jerusalem is the city of Beth- 
lehem, a city that becomes the subject of song on each 
recurring Christmas-day. Over Bethlehem hung that 
special star indicating the whereabouts of that special 
Messenger sent into the world to act as a compass point- 
ing to the eternal home. 

Approaching this city from Jerusalem, we first pass 
by the Jaffa Gate into the Valley of Hinnom, and on in 
view of the Hill of Evil Counsel containing the ruins of 
the summer house of Caiaphas, and then rise upon a plain 
called the Valley of Rephaim, the boundary line between 
Judah and Benjamin, where David defeated the Philis- 
tines. Close at hand is the Well of the Magi, in which, 
according to tradition, the wise men saw the reflection 
of the star, and, following it, came to Bethlehem. The 
road, rising over an eminence here, affords one a good 
view of Jerusalem and Bethlehem at the same time. 
A good view of the Dead Sea is also obtained from this 
road. 

The most noteworthy point passed is the tomb of 
Rachel, which is revered by Jews, Christians, and Mos- 
lems alike. Bedouins think it is the thing to do to bring 
their dead for burial as near this tomb as possible. 

"And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to 
Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar 



292 



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upon her grave ; that is the pillar of Rachel's grave to* 
this day." (Gen. xxxv, 19, 20.) 

Good old Jacob, — how one's heart still aches for him ! 
He was seven years in securing the chosen one, yet those 
seven years "seemed to Jacob but a few days, for the 
love he bore her." Love, pure love, acts in this way. 
Now listen to his testimony as years wore his life away, 
as he approached the grave : "And as for me, when I 
came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of 
Canaan in the way, when yet there was little way to 
come to Ephrath ; and I buried her there in the way to 
Ephrath, the same is Bethlehem." (Gen. xlviii, 7.) 
Dearer to me now than ever before is Jacob, the true- 
hearted. 

Between Rachel's tomb and Bethlehem is David's 
Well, which is mentioned in 2 Samuel xxiii, 14-17. When 
the Philistines were making David exceedingly busy, 
causing him many a weary hour, he longed for a drink 
from this thirst-quenching fount. 

"And David was then in an hold, and the garrison 
of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David 
longed and said, O that one would give me drink of the 
water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate." 
(Sam. xxiii, 14, 15.) 

I can understand how David could appreciate a drink 
of water from home, and if he had longed for the sight 
of even a roustabout yellow dog from home, I would 
understand just what he meant, and would join in the 
chorus. 

It was in this city that Boaz lived, and just outside 
the city are the fields, in one of which Ruth gleaned and 
made the acquaintance which led to marriage, she be- 
coming the ancestress of Judah's kings and of the world's 
Redeemer. 




The Grotto of the Nativity, Bethlehem. 

(Star under the hanging-lamps marking the spot where Christ was born.) 



Jerusalem to Jericho and Bethlehem. 293 

Who can forget the beautiful tenderness manifested 
by Ruth? "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee 
or to return from following after thee ; for whither thou 
goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. 
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. 
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried." 
(Ruth i, 16, 17.) 

It was here that Samuel anointed David to be king 
of Israel. (1 Sam. xvi, 13.) Out yonder on those hills 
that shepherd boy, the great-grandson of Ruth, watched 
his father's sheep. There he protected them from the 
wild beasts. (1 Sam. xvii, 34.) There he wrote his early 
poems. From those winding, undulating slopes he was 
called by Saul to make melody. (1 Sam. xvi, 19.) In 
Luke ii, 4, Bethlehem is called the City of David, and 
in Micah v, 2, is the prophecy stating that from Beth- 
lehem One shall come forth "whose goings forth have 
been from of old, from everlasting." The second chap- 
ters of Matthew and Luke tell of His coming, and are 
familiar to nearly every one, hence I shall not elaborate 
or quote at length from them. 

Over that historic manger at Bethlehem a "fortress- 
like pile of buildings" has been erected, called the Church 
of the Nativity. The nave of the church is the common 
property of all Christians, and is said to be the oldest 
monument of Christian achitecture in the world. A part 
was erected by Constantine in 330 A. D. Here Baldwin I 
was crowned king. Edward IV of England presented 
the church with a new roof. The church is a splendid 
building, containing four rows of marble columns. Two 
staircases lead to the Chapel, or Grotto, of the Nativity, 
which is twenty feet below the floor of the choir. Lamps, 
embroidery, ornaments, and figures of saints are every- 
where. On one side of the grotto is a recess containing 



294 Around the World. 

a silver star in the pavement, about which is the follow- 
ing inscription in Latin : "Hie de Virgine Marie Jesus 
Christus natus est ;" meaning, Here Jesus Christ was 
born of the Virgin Mary. 

Another recess is called the Chapel of the Manger, 
from which the wooden manger was taken, now shown 
at the Church of S. Maria Maggiore at Rome. 

The Altar of the Magi is shown, said to be the spot 
where the wise men presented their gifts. 

It is generally believed that the Grotto of the Nativity 
is the actual place of the birth of Christ. So many people 
coming to the city at one time to be taxed as required 
by law, would make it impossible for all to secure ac- 
commodation at the hotels. A few days after my arrival, 
two parties of Americans, numbering about nine hun- 
dred, arived in Jerusalem. Other parties also came, and 
the crush was great, so that some were glad to get even 
a barn or a woodshed in which to sleep. Hence it is 
perfectly plain to me that Joseph and Mary were as- 
signed humble quarters in that day, when some rich 
people in these days are forced to accept similar treat- 
ment when hotels and boarding-houses are numerous. 

Here is shown the Chapel of St. Jerome, who occu- 
pied a chamber hewn out of the rock, spending thirty 
years in translating the "Biblia Vulgata" of the Latin 
Church. 

The traditional Shepherd's Field usually interests, for 
here the shepherds, watching their flocks by night, re- 
ceived the "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to 
all people. For unto you is born this day, in the City of 
David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this 
shall be a sign unto you : Ye shall find the Babe wrapped 
in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly 
there was with the ansrel a multitude of the heavenlv 



Jerusalem to Jericho and Bethlehem. 30 r 

host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the high- 
est, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it 
came to pass as the angels were gone away from them 
into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now 
go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is 
come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, 
and the Babe lying in a manger." (Luke ii, 10-16.) 

Bethlehem is situated two thousand five hundred and 
fifty feet above sea level, and has a population of eight 
thousand. Its people surpass those of Jerusalem in ap- 
pearance, though apparently of similar stock. The young 
ladies are pleasant, and well dressed for Orientals. 



XXL 

JERUSALEM TO THE SEA OF GALILEE. 

VIA JAFFA, OFSAREA, HAIFA, AND NAZARETH — RUINS OF 
ANCIENT BIBEICAE CITIES — MOUNTS CARMEL AND TA- 
BOR — PEAIN OF ESDRAELON — CANA — TIBERIAS — MAG- 
DAEA — BETHSAIDA AND SAFED. 

Having become acquainted with Jerusalem, Jericho, 
Bethany, and Bethlehem, I turned toward Nazareth by 
the route offering the greatest interest, which was by 
way of Jaffa and Haifa. At Jaffa I boarded a rigged 
steamer schooner of only 1,600 tons register and coasted 
northward. The Judean, Samarian, and Galilean hills 
presented a beautiful appearance from the glassy Medi- 
terranean waters. The first point of exceeding interest 
along the coast is the "desolate site of Csesarea, whose 
ruins have long been a mere quarry for procuring mate- 
rials with which other places have been built. It owes 
its origin to Herod the Great, who spared no pains or 
expense in its erection, and named it after Augustus 
Caesar. Previous to this time there was simply a land- 
ing-place here, and a tower, mentioned by Strabo as 
Strabo's Tower. In the time of Tacitus, Caesarea had 
become the chief town of the Roman province of Judea. 
It was the royal dwelling-place of the Herodian family, 
and the official residence of Festus, Felix, and other 
Roman procurators and the headquarters of the Roman 
troops charged with the security and tranquillity of this 

296 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 297 

part of the empire. Baldwin I took the city from the 
Saracens in 1102, but it was recaptured by Saladin in 
1 187. In 1 191 it was again won by the crusaders, and 
given to Frederick II of Germany in 1229. St. Louis 
rebuilt the walls in 1251."* But now there is scarcely 
anything left of Caesarea's former greatness. Ruin and 
decay are on every hand ; a few Bosnian exiles live among 
the ruins. The New Testament allusions to Caesarea 
show its importance nearly twenty centuries ago. After 
Paul had clambered down the Damascus wall in order 
to save his life, he was brought to Caesarea where he 
secured passage to his home town, Tarsus. (Acts ix, 30.) 
Here lived Cornelius (Acts x), the first convert to Chris- 
tianity after Peter's vision at Jaffa. Peter made rapid 
steps to Caesarea when the prison doors at Jerusalem had 
miraculously given him his freedom. (Acts xii, 19.) 

After Paul had given the Grecians some much needed 
advice on his first missionary journey to the northward, 
he returned to Caesarea. (Acts xviii, 22.) 

It was here that Philip the Evangelist lived. Here 
Paul was warned that the Jews at Jerusalem were taking 
counsel against him, whereupon he uttered the memora- 
ble words, "I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to 
die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts 
xxi, 13.) 

Once this same Paul, when at Jerusalem, demanded 
papers to Damascus giving him authority to arrest any 
one whom he might meet that was Christian. Now, after 
having his eyes opened after the great transformation, 
he is ready to die for the cause he once persecuted. 

To Caesarea Paul was brought, no less than two hun- 
dred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spears- 
men being detailed to bring him. (Acts xxiii, 23.) Why 

* Cook's Palestine, pp. 292, 293. 



2q8 Around the World. 

require so many men? Let the infidel answer. Here it 
was that Kelix, the governor, trembled as Paul "reasoned 
of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." 
He who views the scene to-day and recalls its former 
greatness will decide that Caesarea has been judged and 
found wanting. 

An aqueduct, or part of one, remains, which once 
conducted water from the Crocodile River for the in- 
vincible Roman legions. Fragments of the old Roman 
walls still stand as monuments to blasted hopes. 

The vase called the Holy Grail, that played an im- 
portant part in mediaeval history and poetry, was found 
here in iioi, when captured by Baldwin I. This vase, 
now in Paris, is composed of green crystal, and is hex- 
agonal in shape. The old city covered three hundred and 
seventy-six acres. 

The officers of the schooner on which we took passage 
pointed out traces of the old amphitheater of Herod, 
which is said to have accommodated twenty thousand 
people. 

Passing Csesarea, the next point of interest is the 
village of Tantura, where an old crusaders' tower is seen. 
As the little floater speeds on her way, Mount Carmel 
breaks through the horizon, projecting a mile or more 
into the sea. On account of hidden rocks the vessel sails 
on as- if bound for Greece, and when one thinks Haifa is 
to be left unvisited, the rudder changes at the behest of 
the revolving wheel, and an acute angle is described, 
bringing us into the harbor of Haifa, between Acre and 
the projecting mountain. And this is Carmel, whose ex- 
cellency was once sung by great and small, but which is 
now very much departed, yet some continue to write of 
its "shrubberies thicker than any other in Central Pales- 
tine," its "rich verdure," its "jasmine and various flower- 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 2QQ 

ing creepers," its "oak-trees and perennial shrubs," and 
its "abundance of game and wild animals." 

On Carmel is a cave where Elijah sought shelter from 
pursuing Ahab. A convent is erected over this cave. 
At the foot of the mountain is the "Cave of the prophets," 
where Elijah held the School of the Prophets. The cave 
is shown to every visitor, and Bible times and events take 
new interest and meaning as one visits the places sacred 
in historic wealth, (i Kings xviii, 13; Josh, xii, 22.) 

I climbed to the summit of Carmel after ascending 
its lower slopes by carriage. The view here is worth the 
toil it cost. Enormous blocks of stone are on every hand. 
On the south is Sharon, and on the north is Esdraelon, 
the two important plains of the Holy Land. On the west 
is the sea over which "the prophet saw the little cloud, 
like a man's hand, arise, which was to spread over all 
the scorched land and pour a healing rain. The Kishon, 
reddened with blood of the priests of Baal after their 
shameful defeat, flows through the plain at the foot of 
Carmel." To the east is Jezreel and Mount Tabor rising 
as a sugar loaf. (1 Kings xviii; 2 Kings ii, 25.) Amos 
1, 2, says, "The top of Carmel shall wither." Tacitus 
and Pliny united in attributing to Carmel unusual his- 
toric interest. Pythagoras came here from Egypt, and 
made this mount his favorite retreat. In I Kings xviii 
it is called the Mount of God. Napoleon came here in 
1799 when he besieged Acre, and left a number of 
wounded soldiers, who were slain by the Turks. They 
are buried by the convent. Their graves are shown to 
this day. 

Haifa has a population of about twelve thousand, of 
which about five hundred are Germans, two hundred 
Latins, eight hundred Greeks, sixteen hundred Jews, the 
remainder being Mohammedans chiefly. 



3 oo 



Around the World. 



At Haifa arrangements were perfected for an over- 
land trip to Nazareth and Tiberias, the latter situated 
on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. 

Twelve years ago grading was begun for a railroad 
from Haifa to Damascus via Galilee, but progress has 
been slow, and the guide remarked that it would re- 
quire twelve hundred years to complete the road if the 
work lagged in the future as in the past. Our route from 
Haifa was along the new road a considerable distance. 
The bridges are exceptionally good, each bridge consist- 
ing of several' arches constructed entirely of finished 
stone, granite in appearance, and apparently equal to the 
best engineering in America. Earthworks built by Napo- 
leon to defend the Kishon Valley were passed. These 
works are fifty feet high, but now useless. 

Space would not permit me even to enumerate 
all the places of historic interest; suffice it to state 
that this route is the famous Esdraelon Way, over which 
the world's armies marched as they surged back and 
forth between Egypt and Babylonia. The plain of Jez- 
reel was known also by the Greek name Esdraelon. In 
the Old Testament it is referred to as the plain of Megiddo. 
"The plain lies two hundred and fifty feet below the sea 
level, and, though marshy in places, is, on the whole, re- 
markable for its fertility. In spring, when seen from the 
mountains, the plain resembles a vast green lake. Cranes 
and storks abound here, and gazelles are sometimes seen." 
One thing I know, and shall not forget, is that here the 
horses (three) dragged the conveyance with the great- 
est difficulty, so muddy was the road. I walked for miles 
in order to save the horses, while the driver rode and 
used his energy in plying his whip upon as good and as 
faithful horses as any man ever saw hitched or unhitched. 
I had often read about the bony, skin-and-bone horses of 



•2 3 




Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 301 

Palestine, but I want to bear record that those I saw were 
the equal of horses anywhere and more sensible than 
their drivers (in many instances). Heavy rains had 
fallen ; in fact, the record witnesses that Palestine has 
been treated to a greater rainfall the past month than had 
occurred for years before. 

"This plain has been a battlefield from the days of 
Barak to those of Napoleon. Warriors out of many na- 
tions have pitched their tents in the plain of Esdraelon, 
and have beheld the various banners of their nations 
wet with the dews of Tabor and of Hermon. Esdraelon 
was the portion of Issachar. Here Barak, descending 
from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him, 
discomfited Sisera, whose defeat was owing, in a great 
measure, to his having been drawn to the river Kishon — 
a river which drains the plain into the Mediterranean."* 
"The river of Kishon swept them away ; that ancient 
river, the river Kishon." (Judges v, 22.) 

Here Josiah the king came to fight with Necho, the 
king of Egypt, and received his death-wound. (2 Chron. 
xxxv, 20-25.) The Syrians frequently swept through 
the plain with their armies. (1 Kings xx, 35.) 

After a day's work, interesting but irksome, Nazareth 
was reached. Nazareth has a population estimated all 
the way from six to ten thousand. From six to ten thou- 
sand is sufficiently accurate for Turkish purposes. "The 
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, 
named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose 
name was Joseph." (Luke i, 26, 27.) 

From here Joseph went to Bethlehem "to be taxed 
with Mary, his espoused wife." Passing by the details 
familiar to all regarding the birth of Christ of Bethle- 
hem, it is noticed that, after his return from Egypt, he 

*Cook's Palestine, p. 187. 



302 



Around the World. 



entered upon his public ministry at Nazareth, "that it 
might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, He 
shall be called a Nazarene." (Matt, ii, 23.) And fur- 
ther (Matt, iii, 13), "Jesus came from Nazareth of . Gali- 
lee, and was baptized of John in Jordan." Then, "He 
came to Nazareth where He had been brought up." 
(Luke iv, 16.) After doing His best to reform his town; 
after striving to do what was right, as an example of 
purity, He came in contact with those of His own city 
who objected to the progress of righteousness, where- 
upon they "rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and 
led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was 
built, that they might cast Him down headlong. But He, 
passing through the midst of them, went His way, and 
came down to Capernaum." (Luke iv, 29-31.) 

The point of chief interest in Nazareth is the Latin 
Church of the Annunciation, built by the Franks in 1185. 
Under an altar dedicated to the angel Gabriel is the 
crypt, with fifteen marble steps leading down to the 
Chapel of the Angel and Chapel of the Annunciation, 
where a marble altar stands bearing the inscription, "Hie 
verbum caro factum est." (Here the Word was made 
fiesh.) 

I visited the traditional workshop of Joseph, the rock 
table where Christ met with his disciples, called the Table 
of Christ, and the synagogue where Christ is said to 
have taught his disciples, etc. 

There are no less than three Mounts of Precipitation 
where the people sought to cast the Savior down. It is 
a wonder that several others have not been chosen, as 
there are plenty left. I do not know that it makes any 
difference as to which one is the correct site as long as 
neither one was used for the purpose. 

No one fails to visit the beautiful spring near the 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 303 

center of the city, called the Fountain of the Virgin. In 
the evening it presents a picturesque appearance. "Here 
the village maidens in their bright head-dresses, assem- 
ble, and bear away their well-filled pitchers on their heads. 
The Christian dress is distinguished by the loose trous- 
ers of the women." There can be no reasonable doubt 
that she who was "blessed among women" would often 
come here, perhaps carrying the infant Savior in just the 
same fashion as we may see mothers of Nazareth carry- 
ing their children to-day; and no doubt many a time 
our Savior, as He came past here on His way home, 
would tarry to quench His thirst at this very stream 
whose waters the traveler may drink to-day as a cup of 
blessing."* 

Behind Nazareth is a high hill called the Dome of 
Neby Sain, from whose summit one of the best views of 
the country is obtained. It comprehends nearly half of 
Palestine. The view here is worth more than it costs in 
labor. "At a glance you seem to take in the whole land, 
and the first thought that strikes you is that this must 
have been a favorite resort of the Savior ; and if so, He 
must have had constantly spread out before Him the 
great library of Biblical story. On the north is Hermon ; 
on the south, the mountains round about Shechem ; on 
the east, the mountains of Gilead on the other side of 
Jordan; and on the west, the great sea (Mediterranean), 
the beautiful Bay of Acre; the ridge running out into 
the sea, Mount Carmel, crowned with its convent. South- 
ward are the mountains of Samaria and the hills round 
Jenin; and below lies the magnificent plain of Esdraelon 
and the river Kishon. Northward the view culminates 
in glory, as Hermon, like a great wall of white crystal, 
stands out against the blue sky, with the Galilean hills 

*Cook, p. 198. 



304 Around the World. 

below it, and everywhere round that region is scenery 
varied and picturesque." Standing upon this eminence, 
one is reminded that here Jeremiah must have stood when 
he wrote about Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who 
was to come and smite Egypt, saying: "As I live, saith 
the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts, surely as 
Tabor is among the mountains and as Carmel by the sea, 
so shall he come." (Jer. xlvi, 18.) 

From Nazareth to Tiberias the road most frequented 
is by Cana — the historic Cana of Galilee, where Christ 
performed his first miracle at the marriage feast. (John 
ii, i-ii.) 

In the Greek church was shown jars said to have been 
used on the occasion of the miracle. They were found 
by excavators under the old church which was displaced 
to make room for a more modern structure. The jars 
shown in this church are no less than twice as large as I 
had expected to see. The home of Nathanael was pointed 
out, also the birthplace of Jonah of Gath. Following a 
number of young ladies, who were on their way to a 
spring with large earthen jars for water, we were shown 
the spring or well from which the water is said to have 
been drawn which took part in the miraculous transfor- 
mation. I have long since ceased to record the events 
which caused me to be surprised. This well, ten feet 
deep, without a pump or rope, was entered by a young 
lady, who with unwashed feet, stood in fourteen inches 
of water, her dress or skirt having been rolled about her 
waist. Another lady descended about half way, where 
she took her station, supporting herself by anchoring a 
foot on each side of the well, thereby completing the high- 
way by which the jars were lowered, and raised when 
filled, to be carried away by the others, who came in com- 
panies. The girls, were friendly, offering each of us a 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. ■joK 

drink from the earthen jars, but the water's previous 
contact with unwashed feet rendered it a questionable 
commodity. 

En route from Cana we passed the traditional Mount 
of Beatitudes where the Sermon on the Mount was 
preached, if this is the true site. Another tradition fixes 
this as the scene of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. 
(Matt, xiv, 15-21.) Between Cana and Tiberias addi- 
tional interest was added by the appearance of three hun- 
gry jackals by the roadside. They came from the hills, 
ran along before us for several rods, at times being no 
more than thirty yards from the carriage. A gentleman 
of no less than sixty-nine summers, who had crossed 
America for the golden West with the forty-niners, drew 
his revolver to fire at them, but his young wife, fearing 
that one might be wounded and turn upon us, forced 
her other half to desist from his purpose. As I was think- 
ing of throwing a rock at them, they, doubtless fearing 
David-like accuracy might be perpetrated upon them, 
skulked away toward their hiding-place to the south- 
ward, and the lady in our carriage who had been so ex- 
cited, quieted down to normal temperament. 

In a few minutes the Lake of Galilee — that historic, 
that beautiful sheet of water — spread out before us ; a 
sight referred to as follows by the historian who viewed 
the scene from this point: "In the foreground are the 
steeply-sloping banks leading down to the lake, which 
lies as a basin a thousand feet below. The lake, from 
Tiberias on the right, away to Capernaum on the left, is 
distinctly seen. Across the lake rise the irregular hills, 
sloping down more or less precipitously to the water's 
edge; they are bare and barren, it is true, but they are 
rich and varied in tone and tint. Behind them are the 
mountains of Galilee, and away to the north Hermon 
20 



306 Around the World. 

rises. Thus the view consists of grassy slopes, a deep- 
blue lake of considerable extent, with hills rising from it, 
and a snow-clad mountain. It is impossible, however, to 
separate from these details the spirit and inspiration of 
the scene ; for yonder was the dwelling-place of Christ. 
Upon those waters He trod ; those waters listened to His 
voice, and obeyed ; from one of those plateaus above the 
rugged hills the swine fell into the lake. Every place the 
eye rests upon is holy ground, for it is associated with 
some most sacred scenes in the life of the Master ; every- 
where the gospel is written upon this divinely-illuminated 
page of nature, and the very air seems full of the echo 
of His words. The descent to Tiberias is very steep, 
and the traveler will be struck with the change in tem- 
perature, reminding him of the descent into the Jordan. 
The views are interesting, especially as the old walled 
town of Tiberias makes a picturesque foreground to the 
scenery of the lake." 

Tiberias has a population estimated at from three 
thousand to four thousand people, and an additional pop- 
ulation of multitudinous millions of fleas. The Arabs 
say that the king of fleas lives here. On awaking in the 
morning I asked my roommate whether he was favored 
with any company during the night. He replied: "I 
was disturbed during the night by a flea." He would 
have been equally accurate if he had said that he had 
noticed a sand on the seashore. 

In 1 187 both Nazareth and Tiberias were taken by 
Saladin after the battle of Hattin. Tiberias was built 
by Herod, and by him dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius. 
A royal palace and amphitheater were built, together 
with walls and towers, many of the ruins remaining. 
The Jews can be easily distinguished by their fur caps 
and large black hats. It is recommended that Europeans 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 307 

and Americans keep out of the old city for various rea- 
sons. Such a recommendation would be just the medi- 
cine to cause almost any wide-awake person to make his 
way in or die in the attempt. Consequently I, in com- 
pany with an English gentleman, penetrated to the dark- 
est, dirtiest, dingiest, most forsaken, and indescribable 
sections, and returned to the outside world the same day 
with a store of memories well worth forgetting. 

I made an excursion on the Sea of Galilee to the south 
of Tiberias, visiting the hot springs, which pour forth a 
torrent of waters heated to the high temperature of no less 
than one hundred and forty degrees Fahrenheit, being 
recommended as a sure cure for rheumatism. Plunge 
your hand into that water as I did, and you will withdraw 
the same as quickly. No one can visit this place and then 
entertain a doubt about Palestine being in close connection 
geologically with a very, very hot place. Too hot for 
comfort, thank you ! 

The Sea of Galilee is said to be alive with fish, and 
if those served at the hotel are fair samples, one must 
seek elsewhere than on this earth for their superiors. 
The shores are lined with fishing smacks. Little boys 
and girls in 'arge numbers were scattered along the shore, 
each with shiners, the reward of a moment's patience. 
Nets are used by men in possession of the larger boats, 
and it seems that the quantity of fish annexed here by 
the Isaac Waltons ought soon to make this lake fishless 
— but not so. 

In the Old Testament the Sea of Galilee is called the 
Sea of Chinneroth. In the New Testament, the Sea of 
Tiberias and also the Lake of Gennesaret. It is more 
often called the Sea of Galilee. Once several towns stood 
upon its shores, such as Magdala, Bethsaida, Chorazin, 
Tiberias, and Capernaum, and to present each properly 



308 Around the World. 

would require me to copy much of the New Testament; 
hence a full presentation is not to be considered. I will 
say, however, that I sailed from Tiberias, both north and 
south, visiting available sites, and here record my ob- 
servation that prophecy is fulfilled; judgment has been 
executed upon the condemned cities. 

' . . . Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein 
most of His mighty works were done, because they re- 
pented not : Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! Woe unto thee, 
Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works which were done in you 
had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have re- 
pented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto 
you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the 
day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum, 
which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to 
hell : for if the mighty works which have been done in thee 
had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this 
day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolera- 
ble for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than 
for thee." (Matt, xi, 20-24.) 

Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Magdala — what are 
you but mounds of earth, heaps of ruins, aggregation of 
unmentionable filth, vermin, stench; slaughter-houses and 
tallow-factories and boneyards outdone in nauseating 
odors. Slumdom in the world's cities, surpassed in all 
that is degenerate, why all this? Let the unbeliever read 
with unbiased mind the clarion blasts of prophecy, and 
then hasten here with all speed. Let him cross the ocean 
aboard the fastest greyhound that plunges across the 
briny deep ; let him hasten to this land sacred in Bible 
story — the land chosen by the God of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob for a chosen people — a land where the God of 
science and religion manifested Himself so noticeably to 
mankind that the whole range of history chose the Christ 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 309 

as the pivot upon which it would swing, pointing with 
one hand to the eternal past, and with the other to the 
eternal now ; let him come here, look upon these scenes, 
and he will forever be a different but wiser man. But 
he who comes here biased by poisonous prejudice may 
find that which will add to his stock of gangrene. 

Here, as recorded in Luke v, Christ entered a ship, 
had it pushed out from the land, and taught the people. 
Here Simon, having toiled all night and taken nothing, 
being advised by the Savior to "launch out into the deep," 
obeyed and "inclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their 
net brake." Obeying the command not only secured for 
him more fish than he could manage, but also a quantity 
sufficient to load, not only his own ship, but that of his 
partners till they both "began to sink." (Luke v, 5-7.) 

Then Peter, James, and John were astonished and 
fearful, but the King of Men said, "Fear not ; from hence- 
forth thou shalt catch men." "And when they had 
brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed 
Him." (Luke v, 10, 11.) 

Here Christ presented those wonderful parables. 
(Matt, xiii, 1-52.) Here "He rebuked the winds and 
the sea, and there was a great calm." (Matt, viii, 24-27.) 
Just across on yonder's precipice the swine took a tumble 
into the sea, proving that a hog prefers death by drown- 
ing to the company of devils. (Matt, viii, 28-34.) 

Having fed the five thousand, He saw His disciples 
laboring against a contrary wind, and "went unto them, 
walking on the sea." (Matt xiv, 25.) A contrary wind 
on the Sea of Galilee means much. Though the lake is 
no more than fourteen miles in length, it is so situated 
that a light wind causes a very rough surface, and squalls 
are frequent. 

When a temporal kingdom would force Him to pay 



3io 



Around the World. 



taxes, He sent Peter down to the Sea of Galilee with a 
fish-hook to have the fish foot his bills, saying, "Go thou 
to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that 
first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, 
thou shalt find a piece of money ; that take, and give 
unto them for Me and thee." (Matt, xvii, 27.) 

No earthly king ever proved his equal, yet He was 
crucified after a judge said, "I find no fault in Him." 
But a more extraordinary event than all these occurred 
on these waters. 

After the resurrection, a voice is heard as the dis- 
ciples are out on the lake. It is a familiar voice, yet un- 
expected. Hear the voice : "Children, have you any 
meat?" The reply, "No," brings a repetition of the 
miracle of the fishes. Then that disciple whom Jesus 
loved said, "It is the Lord," and m a moment Peter, im- 
petuous Peter, plunged into the water without waiting 
for formalities or caring what any one else did, and swam 
to the risen Lord. On shore a fire was noticed, bread 
was at hand, and from the net fish were secured and a 
meal was enjoyed. (John xxi, 1-14.) 

Safed is situated on an eminence, being, as many 
think, "the city set on a hill that can not be hid," men- 
tioned by Jesus in Matt, v, 14. 

Safed is one of the four cities in Palestine of which it 
is said by the Jews that the world would come to an end 
at once if prayer should cease to be offered in them. 
These cities are Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Safed. 

Safed has twenty-five thousand inhabitants, eleven 
thousand being Mohammedans and at least four thou- 
sand Jews, the latter having a tradition that the Mes- 
siah is to come from Safed. 

Safed and Tiberias are yoked together in the bank- 
ing business if in no other way, bank-notes being issued 



Jerusalem to the Sea of Galilee. 311 

by the banks of the two cities good in these two cities 
only. The largest bank-note issued has the value of four 
cents (American) ; the next is worth two cents; the next 
one cent ; and the smallest equals one-tenth of a cent, one 
mill ; and with such currency the business of these cities 
is transacted. 

Retracing our steps, we return to Nazareth by way of 
the Mount of Beatitudes and to the north of Mount Ta- 
bor, the traditional site of the transfiguration. 



XXII 

NAZARETH TO DAMASCUS. 
via c arm ex, acre;, tyre, sidon, and be;irut — over the; 

EEBANONS — SLAUGHTER OE CHRISTIANS AT DAMASCUS 
— SEVENTY THOUSAND CHOLERA VICTIMS — STRAIGHT 
STREET. 

From Nazareth the plain of Esdraelon was traversed 
as before, and Sunday spent at Haifa. On Monday I 
embarked for Beirut aboard a Khedivial steamer run- 
ning on the coasting line. Acre, situated just across the 
Bay of Acre from Haifa, was the first point of impor- 
tance noticed, boasting of a population of five thousand 
souls. Acre, on account of its favorable location, has 
long been called the "Key of Palestine," but is second- 
ary to both Haifa and Jaffa as a port of entry. History 
says of it : "It was allotted to Asher, but never con- 
quered. (Judges i, 31.) It was commonly reckoned 
a Phcenicean city. Under the Ptolemies it became im- 
portant and was called Ptolemais. Antiochus the Great 
subsequently seized the city, and attached it to his Syrian 
dominions ; it figured also in the wars of the Maccabees. 
It was here that the Knights of Saint John prolonged 
for forty-three days their gallant resistance to the Sul- 
tan Kalawun of Egypt. Sixty thousand Christian citi- 
zens and soldiers were, on this occasion, slain or sold 
as slaves. In 1799, Napoleon besieged Acre, and was 
prevented from taking it by the English under Sir Sid- 

312 



Nazareth to Damascus. 313 

ney Smith. In 1840 the town was taken from the Egyp- 
tians for the Turks by Sir Charles Napier." 

Of Acre, Dean Stanley said : "The peculiarity of 
Acre lies in its many sieges, by Baldwin, by Saladin, by 
Richard, by Khalil in the Middle Ages ; by Napoleon, 
by Ibrahim Pasha, and by Sir Robert Stafford in later 
times. It is thus the one city of Palestine which has ac- 
quired distinct relation with the Western world of mod- 
ern history, analogous to those of Csesarea with the 
Western world of ancient history. But the singular fate 
which it enjoyed at the close of the crusades gives it a 
special interest, never to be forgotten by those who, in 
the short space of an hour's walk, can pass round its 
broken walls. Within that narrow circuit — between the 
Saracen armies on one side, and the roar of the Medi- 
terranean on the other — were cooped up the remnant of 
the crusading armies, after they had been driven from 
every other part of Palestine. Within that narrow circuit 
the kings of Jerusalem and Cyprus; the princes of An- 
tioch ; the counts of Tripoli and Sidon ; the great masters 
of the Hospital, the Temple, and the Teutonic orders ; the 
Republics of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa ; the pope's legate ; 
the kings of France and England, — assumed an inde- 
pendent command. Seventeen tribunals exercised the 
power of life and death. All the eyes of Europe were 
then fixed on that spot. Acre contained in itself a com- 
plete miniature of feudal Europe and Latin Christendom. 
Napoleon had cause to remember Acre as the place 
where he suffered his first defeat, his first Waterloo." 

Speeding northward, Tyre is passed, a city founded 
2750 B. C. In Joshua xix, 29, Tyre is called "The strong 
city." It was Hiram, king of Tyre, that provided Solo- 
mon with cedars from Lebanon and workmen for build- 
ing the temple at Jerusalem. The Assyrians took Tyre 



314 Around the World. 

by siege, then evacuated the city. It was taken 584 B. C. 
by Nebuchadnezzar, who besieged it no less than thir- 
teen years before the capture. But in 333 B. C, Alexan- 
der the Great tried to take the city, whose ramparts were 
said to have been one hundred feet in height. The old 
city being situated on an island, an enormous mole was 
built by the aid of the Cyprians and the Phoenicians, and 
the city taken after a seven months' siege by that general 
who is said to have wept because he could find no more 
worlds to conquer. Had he only marched eastward to 
Cathay, his whole army might have employed itself in 
measuring strength with the rat-eating, pyrotechnic 
Chinese. Strabo stated that Alexander utterly destroyed 
the city, burnt it to the ground, mercilessly put to the 
sword all who resisted, hung two thousand of its citi- 
zens along the seashore, and sold thirty thousand of its 
inhabitants into slavery in order to enrich his coffers ; 
and, in spite of it all, the city recovered its greatness 
again in 262, just seventy years after. Thus history 
records the fulfilling of the prophecy of Isaiah xxiii, 

15-17- 

Paul once sailed from here. The Savior visited it, 
and declared that it would have repented in sackcloth 
and ashes if as much work had been bestowed upon it 
and Sidon as had been devoted to Bethsaida and Chora- 
zin. Smith said of Tyre : "It had been the parent of 
cities which at a distant period had enjoyed a long life 
and had died and it had survived more than fifteen hun- 
dred years its greatest colony Carthage. It had outlived 
Egyptian Thebes, and Babylon, and ancient Jerusalem. 
It had seen Grecian cities rise and fall." After being 
taken by the Saracens it never recovered its former great- 
ness, but fell into ruin. A traveler through here in 1697 
wrote that he saw "not so much as one entire house left." 



Nazareth to Damascus. 



315 



During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Tyre 
was partially rebuilt, and now contains a population of 
about five thousand. Of old Tyre it may be said, that 
even the dust has been scraped from the rocks and thrown 
into the sea by the driving winds and the decay incident 
to Time's forward march. 

Passing on north from Tyre, the ruins of Sarepta are 
pointed out by the boatmen familiar with every site of 
interest. Sarepta, the Zarephath of the Old Testament, 
was where Elijah procured the restoration of the widow's 
child. (Kings xvii, 8-24.) Sarepta is scarcely lost to 
view when Sidon presents itself for consideration. Sidon, 
a city of about eleven thousand people, is even older than 
Tyre, being mentioned in Genesis x, 19. Homer thought 
so much of Sidon that he gives it particular mention in 
his writings. In 1 Kings v, 6, it is stated that none "had 
the skill to hew timbers like the Sidonians." Strabo 
mentioned it as being celebrated for its prowess in art, 
science, and philosophy, and added, "For wealth, com- 
merce, luxury, vice, and power, it was unequaled in the 
Levant, until Tyre outstripped it, and Shalmaneser con- 
quered it." Xerxes depended upon the Sidonians for 
the success of his navy in the invasion of Greece. In 
351 B. C., Sidon rebelled, or revolted, from its Persian 
ruler, while Persia was engaged in a contest with Egypt. 
The treachery of a Sidonian Benedict Arnold delivered 
Sidon into the hands of the Persian soldiers. Thereupon 
the Sidonians shut themselves up within the walls, and 
set the city on fire, destroying not only their houses, hut 
also sacrificing themselves to the flames. It is said that 
no less than forty thousand persons perished in the flames. 

The revolving screw pushes the ship northward, and 
Beirut is reached, where a night was spent prior to be- 
ginning the trip over the Lebanon Mountains to Damas- 



3 1 6 Around the World. 

cus, ninety miles inland by rail. Beirut offers little to 
the sight-seer, though it boasts of one hundred and twenty 
thousand people. The trip to Dog River is simply a 
pleasant drive, as nothing is to be seen save a few Roman 
inscriptions, which are as lacking in interest as they are 
dim. The American College, located here, is regarded 
as the largest American institution of learning not on 
American soil. 

Leaving Beirut at 7 A. M., the train rises over the 
Lebanon Mountains, using the rack-and-pinion system, 
reaching a height measuring four thousand five hundred 
and eighty feet above sea-level. At this high point the 
scenery is a panorama of beauty. Though twenty miles 
from the Mediterranean, one is so deceived by surround- 
ings that the sea seems to nestle only a few hundred rods 
away. Mount Hermon's snowy slopes and rugged peak 
present a vision of eternal cold. At Hermon's feet be- 
gin many a stream which, uniting, form rushing rivers. 
As the train speeds towards Damascus, after leaving the 
slow rack-and-pinion process, it winds its way alongside 
the Litany River, which rushes onward as a restless 
mountain current. The line enters the anti-Lebanon 
country, and, when fifty-four miles from Beirut, passes 
over the watershed at an altitude of four thousand six 
hundred and ten feet, the highest point en route to Da- 
mascus. Thence the valley of the Barada is reached. 
Barada is the Arabic name for the Abana of Bible his- 
tory. Along this stream's thickly-wooded banks the 
puffing locomotive dashes, bringing to the interested pas- 
senger memories of days long since faded into the long 
night of history. This rushing mountain torrent glides 
along between well-worn rocks, past trees that have for 
years watched its behavior, but are now being whipped 
about as fallen giants moored to the eroding banks; 



Nazareth to Damascus. 



3 J 7 



through orchards ladened with blossoms of many colors, 
presenting a scene beautiful, — a spectacle that for variety 
and depth of color would contest successfully with 
Japan's cherry-blossoms at their best. 

At Ain Fijeh, fourteen miles from Damascus, a river 
bursts forth from the mountain slope and empties into 
the Barada, though it is more than twice as large as 
the Barada up to this point. More than threefold its 
former size, the river hastens on to Damascus, with the 
train ever keeping close company. When a few miles 
out, the towers and minarets of Damascus burst upon 
the view as the train swings around a curve. Soon the 
Berkamah station is reached, where most passengers 
alight, as the hotels are nearest this station. The train 
goes on, skirting the borders of the city a mile and a 
half, reaching the Meidan Station. 

Damascus, with its population of a quarter of a mil- 
lion people, is a conundrum. Josephus declared that it 
was in existence before Abraham was called by the Most 
High God to found the chosen race. Traditions are ex- 
tant throughout the Orient placing the events connected 
with the infancy of the human race about Damascus. 
Shakespeare has fallen in line with the general drift of 
thought and in King Henry vi, 1-3, says: 

"Nay, stand thou back, I will not budge a foot; 
This be Damascus; be thou cursed Cain, 
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt." 

Other cities have risen, fallen, decayed. While Baby- 
lon is a heap of ruins far out in the desert, Damascus 
is what Isaiah vii, 8, called it, "The head of Syria." 
Genesis xiv, 15, tells of Damascus; and what was once 
Damascus is Damascus still. True it has been destroyed, 
but Damascus will not down. Tike the fabled phoenix, 
it rises from its ashes as if ordained to live though cen- 



318 Around the World. 

turies grow old and gray with weary years. If I would 
venture an opinion, I would say Damascus owes her ex- 
istence to the rivers which go coursing through her 
streets. Without them, she would be a worthless spot 
amid a great desert, not even attractive to a weary, wan- 
dering Bedouin. "Are not these rivers of Damascus to 
be preferred to the waters of Israel?" Greek writers 
have called the Abana "the river of gold." Conybeare 
and Howson's "Life and Epistles of Saint Paul" refers 
to this city with the following language : "This stream 
is the inestimable, unexhausted treasure of Damascus. 
The habitations of men must always have been gathered 
round it, as the Nile has inevitably attracted an immemo- 
rial population to its banks. The desert is a fortification 
around Damascus. The river is its life. It is drawn out 
into water-courses and spread in all directions. For 
miles around it is a wilderness of gardens — gardens with 
roses amid the tangled shrubberies, and with fruit in the 
branches overhead. Everywhere among the trees the 
murmur of unseen rivulets is heard. Even in the city 
which is in the midst of the gardens, the clear rushing 
of the current is a perpetual refreshment. Every (large) 
dwelling has its fountain, and at night, when the sun has 
set behind Mount Lebanon, the lights of the city are 
seen flashing on the waters." 

As one walks the streets of Damascus he is impressed 
that any complimentary description of the city is over- 
drawn and entirely uncalled for. It is only at a distance, 
or from some towering minaret, that Damascus presents 
even the semblance of beauty. It is no wonder that the 
scribe who desires to paint a pleasant word-picture of 
Damascus, takes Damascus as a subject, and then swings 
out from it in his quest for subject-matter. It is almost 
like the divine who is guilty of taking his text, and then 



Nazareth to Damascus. 



3 ! 9 



sailing away so far that at no time is he within signaling 
distance of it, nor can he see the tops of its masts above 
the rolling sea. In the following extract on Damascus, 
note the view-point "of the writer. He knew better than 
to choose as a point of observation any position within 
this dirty, filthy, cholera-ridden city. After two com- 
plete sentences, he packs his trunk and hies away to a 
spot without the city. 

"Damascus remains the true type of an Oriental city. 
Caravans come and go from Bagdad and Mecca, as of 
old ; merchants sit and smoke over their costly bales in 
dim bazaars ; drowsy groups sip their coffee in kiosks 
overhanging the river; and all the picturesque costumes 
of the East melt and mingle in the streets. The first 
view of the town from one of the neighboring ridges is 
like a view of the earthly paradise. Marble minarets, 
domes, massive towers, and terraces of level roofs, rise 
out of a sea of foliage, the white buildings shining with 
ivory softness through the broad, dark clumps of ver- 
dure, which, miles in depth and leagues in circuit, girdle 
the city, making it as the people love to say 'a pearl set in 
diamonds.' It is a wilderness of bloom and fragrance 
and fruitage, where olive and pomegranate, orange and 
apricot, plum and walnut, mingle their varied tints of 
green, sweet with roses and jasmine blossom, and alive 
with babbling rivulets. And close up to the edge of the 
gardens comes the yellow desert, and around it are the 
bare mountains, with the snowy crest of Hermon stand- 
ing like a sentinel with shining helmet, on the west, 'the 
tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards Damascus.' ' : 

Paul, an unbeliever at Jerusalem, "desired letters to 
Damascus to the synagogues" (Acts ix, 12), which let- 
ters he secured. He hoped to put an end to Christianity, 
and expected to bring "bound to Jerusalem" any whom 



320 



Around the World. 



he should find, "whether they be men or women." But 
what happened? "As he journeyed, he came near Dam- 
ascus," and suddenly something happened and he fell to 
the earth. In a few seconds came that historic and 
laconic reply, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" 
(Acts ix, 3-6.) It was not long until it was known of 
him that "he preached Christ in the synagogues, that 
He is the Son of God, and confounded the Jews which 
dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ." 
(Acts ix, 20-22.) 

Next only to Jerusalem among strongholds that might 
well be termed football cities stands Damascus. The 
soldiers of nearly every nation have encamped here to 
test their fighting strength. The Persians, Arabians, 
Greeks, Egyptians, and Turks have, each in turn, un- 
furled their flags above the Damascan battlements, and 
all have lowered their flags and hastened away in com- 
plete rout, except the Turks, who remain in possession 
of the city. Alexander the Great, while besieging Acre 
himself, sent his general, Parmenio, to capture Damas- 
cus. But the butchering of Damascan history occurred 
in i860. An article in the Treaty of Paris, signed in 
1856, provided that foreign nations should not interfere 
in the affairs of Turkey, which practically placed the 
Christians at the mercy of the sultan and his treacherous 
underlings. Being encouraged by a false report from 
the mutiny in India, Ahmed Pasha gave an order to mas- 
sacre the Europeans in the city and country. The ter- 
rible slaughter began, but it had not been long in prog- 
ress until a chieftain appeared upon the scene ; it was 
Abd-el-Kader ; and may his memory never fade from its 
deserved rank in history ! Colonel Churchill, who was 
conversant with the situation, wrote the following in 
memory of the chieftain, who proved to be superior to 
his race: 



Nazareth to Damascus. 



321 



"No sooner had Abd-el-Kader gained intelligence of 
the frightful disaster than he sent out his faithful Alger- 
ines into the Christian quarter, with orders to rescue all 
the wretched sufferers they could meet. Hundreds were 
safely escorted to his house before dark. Many rushed 
to the British consulate. As night advanced fresh hordes 
of marauders — Kurds, Arabs, Druzes — entered the city, 
and swelled the furious mob of fanatics, who, now glutted 
with spoil, began to cry out for blood. The dreadful 
work then began. All through that awful night and the 
whole of the following day the pitiless massacre went on. 
Hundreds disappeared, hurried away to distant parts of 
the surrounding country, where they were instantly mar- 
ried to Mohammedans. The churches and convents, 
which in the first paroxysm of terror had been filled to 
suffocation, presented piles of corpses, mixed up promis- 
cuously with the wounded, and those only half dead, 
whose last agonies were endured amidst flaming beams 
and calcined blocks of stone hurled upon them with earth- 
quake shock. The thoroughfares were choked with the 
slain. To say that the Turks took no means whatever to 
stay this huge deluge of massacre and fire would be 
superfluous. They connived at it ; they instigated it ; 
they ordered it ; they shared in it. Abd-el-Kader alone 
stood between the living and the dead. Fast as his Al- 
gerines brought in those whom he had rescued, he con- 
soled them, fed them. Forming them into detached par- 
ties, he forwarded them under successive guards to the 
castle. There, as the terrible day closed in, nearly twelve 
thousand, of all ages and sexes, were collected and 
huddled together, fruits of his untiring exertions. There 
they remained for weeks, lying on the bare, ground with- 
out covering, hardly with clothing, exposed to the sun's 
scorching rays. He himself was now menaced. His 
21 



322 



Around the World. 



house was filled with hundreds of fugitives, European 
consuls, and native Christians. The Mohammedans, 
furious at being thus balked of their prey, advanced 
towards it, declaring they would have them. Informed 
of the movement, the hero coolly ordered his horse to 
be saddled, put on his cuirass and helmet, and mounting, 
drew his sword. His faithful followers formed around 
him, brave remnant of his old guard, comrades in many 
a well-fought field, illustrious victors of the Moulaia, 
where twenty-five hundred men under his inspiring com- 
mand, attacked the army of the emperor of Morocco, 
sixty thousand strong, and entirely defeated it. The 
fanatics came in sight. Singly he charged into the midst, 
and drew up. 'Wretches !' he exclaimed, 'is this the way 
you honor the prophet? You may think you may do as 
you please with the Christians, but the day of retribution 
will come. The Franks will yet turn your mosques into 
churches. Not a Christian will I give up. They are my 
brothers. Stand back or I will give my men orders to 
fire.' "* The crowd dispersed. Soon the French and 
English fleets appeared at Beirut, and retribution fol- 
lowed swiftly upon the tracks of those who had caused 
the massacre. A fine of one million dollars was levied 
upon the city. Ahmed Pasha was executed, along with 
one hundred and twenty of the city officials connected 
with the outrage of the century ; no less than four hun- 
dred others were condemned to imprisonment or exile. 
To Abd-el-Kader is due the credit for staying the mas- 
sacre. What wonderful words those — "Not a Christian 
will I give up ; they are my brothers" — to come from the 
lips of a follower of Islam ! 

I present this somewhat lengthy account of the cruel 
Damascus tragedy because international jurisprudence 



*Cook's Syria, p. 24 



Nazareth to Damascus. 



323 



regards this event as one of the most noteworthy with 
which it has contended. 

Damascus has no less than two hundred and forty- 
nine mosques, of which the Great Mosque has a world- 
wide reputation. From one of its towering minarets 
the city and environs were viewed in a most satisfactory 
manner, although I had formerly visited the chief points 
of interest, such as the house of Ananias, and the house 
of Naaman, and that part of the wall where Paul was 
supposed to have been let down in order to escape. The 
Great Mosque is five hundred feet east and west, and 
three hundred feet north and south. The interior has a 
nave with aisles, and is supported by columns. Slippers 
must be put on at the door, as shoes would desecrate 
the sacred shrine. The Mohammedan, in his effort to 
surpass many Christians, prays five times a day. It 
matters not what sort of business is on hand, he drops 
everything and prostrates himself upon his prayer rug, 
with face towards Mecca. A biograph is the only instru- 
ment by which the devotions of a follower of Islam can 
be presented properly to a distant people. Many a time 
have I listened to the muezzin, the call to prayers, as it 
is made from the lofty minarets. It is set to music and 
a part of it in English means, "God is God; there is no 
other God but God, and Mohammed is His prophet." 
In the transept is a chapel which contains the head of 
John the Baptist, if the claims of Islam be true. They 
also declare that they have his hand in Beirut and his 
feet in Tripoli. 

Passing down street from the Great Mosque via the 
bazaars to the hotel, I noticed a crowd of men gazing 
at a poster that had been pasted on a tree in the middle 
of the street. Being anxious to know what it contained, 
I requested my dragoman to read it and tell me what it 



324 



Around the World. 



announced. He complied, and reported that it stated 
that seventy thousand people died of cholera the past 
year in Damascus, and that sixty thousand of them were 
infidels and only ten thousand were Mohammedans, 
showing that Islam was an antidote to that disease. Be- 
fore leaving that Mosque, I should have mentioned that 
one of the minarets is called the Minaret of Jesus, be- 
cause a tradition affirms that when Jesus comes to judge 
the world, he will descend to this minaret first. 

One of the streets of Damascus is called Straight 
Street, the one Paul traversed when he entered the city. 
It is far enough from being straight to be called Crooked 
Street. In referring to the Bible, it is noticed that the 
Book does not say, or even infer, that it is actually 
straight, but simply refers to it as the "Street called 
Straight." To say a thing is straight, and again to say 
that a thing is simply called straight, are two things as 
different as crooked and straight. 



XXIII 

DAMASCUS TO ATHENS 

escape; from Turkish quarantine — holy land cit- 
ies REVISITED — ALONGSIDE CRETE — CLASSIC ATHENS. 

I had finished my work at Damascus and retired to 
well-earned rest the second night in the city, expecting 
to arise on the morrow and proceed to Baalbek; but at 
midnight — that lonesome hour of midnight, when one 
day is dying and another is springing into life — who 
should come to the hotel but a messenger from the Brit- 
ish consulate informing us that we should leave the city 
at once, as an order had been issued placing the great 
city of Damascus and Baalbek under quarantine. 

Paul once escaped from the city during the dark 
hours ; but I lingered within the portals till seven o'clock, 
the time of the departure of the first train, and the last 
one also, before the decree went into effect. I shall ever 
remember the crowd gathered at the depot. Each per- 
son who could get away, having gathered his or her 
effects, had tumbled them in upon the floor of the wait- 
ing-room and upon the long platform. What a mob ! 
Every one pushing his neighbor and climbing over lug- 
gage of every description ; old trunks that had weathered 
the better fraction of a century ; old sacks, well filled ; 
saddle-bags ; old carpets wrapped about wearing apparel ; 
boxes of provisions ; tents for camping ; narghilehs 
(pipes) by the wholesale; and numerous articles not con- 

325 



326 Around the World. 

venient to mention with English words. Veiled women, 
with commanding, tyrant husbands, hurried here and 
there. A general scramble for tickets added interest to 
the lively scene. Jews were walking to and fro, weep- 
ing, having been refused tickets, as no Jews were per- 
mitted to leave, the cholera prevailing more generally in 
their quarter than elsewhere. As that last train steamed 
away, those Damascenes left behind looked forlorn, as 
they were compelled to turn to their homes and face the 
possibility of falling before that dreaded disease. 

Rejoicing over the hair-breadth escape, I paid little 
attention to the scenery while crossing the Lebanons, oc- 
cupying myself chiefly in recalling the events of the so- 
journ in the quarantined city, and returning thanks for 
deliverance from the horrors of a prospective Turkish 
imprisonment. 

This road is the only one known to me where the 
engine is changed from one end of the train to the other, 
from time to time. The track, having been headed off 
by mountain fastnesses, could go no farther, requiring 
acute angles; hence the change of front at every such 
point. I am told that this railway project put the world's 
best engineers to a severe test, and the doubling system 
was substituted as the only solution. 

On arriving at Beirut I boarded the first outbound 
steamer for — I did not care where ; anywhere would do, 
excepting to Constantinople, in order to avoid the Turk- 
ish quarantine. As my tezkereh was signed last by the 
officials at Damascus, it would not be discreet to land 
again at a Turkish port, as the paper would be self- 
convicting of a Damascus residence and a sure passport 
to the quarantine station. 

Securing a ticket for Piraeus, Greece, I stepped aboard 
the steamer, and was soon sailing southward, this 



Damascus to Athens. ^27 

steamer having been scheduled to make the trip via 
Sidon, Tyre, Acre, Haifa, Csesarea, Jaffa, Port Said, and 
Alexandria. For this I was indeed glad, as it gave me 
another opportunity to see these very historic points. 
The vessel taken being a mailboat of the KhedivialMail 
Line, a stop of several hours was made at Haifa, under 
the shadow of Mount Carmel, and at Jaffa and Port Said. 
So much time was spent in port that we were nearly 
three days in reaching Alexandria, where we were tran- 
shipped to another and larger vessel, the Prince Abbas 
of the same line, which was of only 2,200 tons register. 

Having nine hours in Alexandria, I went ashore and 
renewed old impressions of this city, where Greek is very 
much in evidence, the city having been founded by Alex- 
ander the Great. Passing out of the harbor for Greece, 
Forts Ada and Pharos were observed to the right, Pharos 
being the site where one of the seven original Wonders 
of the World stood. 

Since reference has been made to the seven original 
Wonders of the World, I shall here mention them in 
their order of precedence. 

First, the Pyramids of Egypt; second, the Tomb of 
Mausolus, king of Caria, erected by his queen; third, 
the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, supposed to have been 
two hundred and twenty years in building, being sup- 
ported by one hundred and twenty-nine columns of mar- 
ble sixty feet high, each weighing one hundred and fifty 
tons ; fourth, the Walls and Hanging Gardens of Baby- 
lon ; fifth, the Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of 
Apollo ; sixth, the Statue of Jupiter at Olympia, sculp- 
tured in ivory and gold by Phidias ; and seventh, the 
Pharos at Alexandria, which was a watch-tower built 
of white marble, so high that it could be seen for one 
hundred miles. All of these have surrendered at the 



328 Around the World. 

behest of time, excepting the Pyramids of Egypt, and 
they are gradually declining, in slow but sure process of 
passing in their checks. 

A day's sail to the north by west brought us alongside 
Crete, which figured so prominently in Grecian myth- 
ology. Here legends grew with the rapidity of mush- 
rooms. A volume would be required to present Crete, 
doing justice to Minos, Minotaur, Theseus, Ariadne, and 
Zeus. 

Acts xxvii, 12-21, sets forth the fact that Paul was 
once here during rough weather, with questionable pros- 
pects as to the outcome. The last verse tells how they 
escaped to shore, "some on boards, and some on broken 
pieces of the ship." 

For half a day we sailed along the shore of Crete in 
full view of Mount Ida, a site sacred in story. The 
ship then threaded her way among the islands, — San- 
torin, Policandro, Siphanto, Serpho, Thermia, and many 
others, reaching the Grecian shores on Friday. Ap- 
proaching Piraeus, Mount Hymettus rises in front of 
the prow and to the right, while the Bay of Salamis lies 
to the left, where Xerxes saw his fleet destroyed upon 
which he had depended for the capture of Greece. The 
very headland is pointed out where Xerxes stood as he 
watched the famous battle of Salamis. Turning a sharp 
corner, Piraeus, the principal port of Greece, was en- 
tered, where shipping, floating flags of many nations, in- 
dicated an important center. I landed, passed the cus- 
toms examination, and contracted to be taken to the 
railroad station in order to take the train for Athens. 
When half way to the station, the carriage stopped, and 
I was informed that I would have to pay a certain num- 
ber of francs more than the contract price, whereupon I 
stepped from the carriage and walked the remainder of 



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Damascus to Athens. 



329 



the way, reminding the would-be extortioner that he 
deserved a first-class caning, but, to return good for evil, 
I would just leave him with his cab in the middle of the 
street to dream over the unwisdom of his course for sup- 
posing that I could be thus imposed upon, who had seen 
more people, visited more countries, and knew more of 
the world and its ways in a moment than he had ever 
dreamed of. He wilted like the last rose of summer; 
but I was not to be coaxed into being his patron after 
he had made a donkey of himself. 

Very little time was spent in Piraeus, as Athens, eight 
and one-half miles inland, was the objective point. As 
the train rolls on toward the classic city, the tourist bids 
history pass in grand review before the portals of mem- 
ory. Antiquity is transformed into present realities as 
one recalls that here Xerxes met his Waterloo; here 
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle contributed their wealth 
of thought ; here in the valley, no doubt, Demosthenes 
rehearsed his orations before delivering them before the 
assembled Athenian multitudes. Every signal from the 
puffing engine causes the mind to think of some historic 
personage who never dreamed of the advent of the iron 
horse. 

Long before Athens is reached the Acropolis rises to 
welcome the traveler. Divest Athens of all else, and the 
Acropolis will offer sufficient interest to call students 
from every clime. I had no sooner arrived in Athens 
than I hastened to ascend to the Acropolis, which is five 
hundred feet above sea-level. Here one is impressed that 
giant builders once held sway ; architects whose ideals 
were copied from the mammoth builders of Thebes. The 
Parthenon, which crowns the summit, was planned by 
Pericles, and its construction was superintended by Phi- 
dias, the matchless Grecian sculptor, who was imprisoned 



330 Around the World. 

for having advertised himself by placing his own like- 
ness upon the shield of the goddess Athena, and for ap- 
propriating some of the gold provided for the robe of 
the goddess. The statue of Athena within the Parthenon 
was seventeen feet in height, while the huge statue on 
the outside, between the Parthenon and the Propylsea, 
towered more than sixty feet, and could be seen for miles 
at sea. The pristine beauty of the colossal buildings that 
crown the Acropolis has departed as the result of many 
a siege. Converted into a powder magazine by the 
Turks, it was sadly wrecked by the explosion of a bomb 
hurled hither by the Venetians during an assault in 1687. 
The Acropolis museum is well worth one's attention and 
backsheesh. The view from the Acropolis is grand. The 
sea, though eight miles away, seems scarcely more than 
a stone's throw distant. Mounts Hymettus and Pentel- 
icus, whence came the rare Pentelic marble used by Phid- 
ias, are landmarks from which the locations of Salamis, 
Platsea, Marathon, etc., are determined. 

Nestling at the feet of the rocky height are other 
points that make Athens doubly interesting. Near the 
entrance to this height of ancient greatness is the Areop- 
agus, usually known as Mars' Hill, where Paul hurled 
at the Athenians the philippic recorded in Acts xvii, 
15-31. Every one visits the Agora, near the Tower of 
the Winds, where Paul found willing hearers. Sitting 
upon a terrace is the Theseum, or Temple of Theseus, 
which is the best preserved of all the ancient edifices in 
Greece. It was built 470 B. C, of Pentelic marble. In 
front of this splendid building is a colossal statue of Vic- 
tory. The Pnyx, whose platform would seat eight thou- 
sand people, is a terrace, semi-circular in form, where 
Grecian statesmen informed their fellow-countrymen on 
civic subjects. Upon the slopes of the Acropolis is the 



Damascus to Athens. 031 

Theater of Bacchus, erected under the rule of Lycurgus, 
and seating, according to Plato, thirty thousand persons. 
Resting upon the marble were the bronze statues of 
Sophocles, ^Eschylus, and Euripides, placed there upon 
the order of Lycurgus. Another monument to the credit 
of Lycurgus is the Stadium, built between the spurs of 
Pentelicus and Hymettus, for the purpose of affording 
seating capacity for all who desired to witness the Pan- 
Hellenic games. The Stadium is now being remodeled 
with Pentelic marble, and will seat sixty thousand. 



XXIV 
ATHENS TO ROME. 

OVERLAND TOUR IN GREECE — ATHENS TO CORINTH AND 
PATRAS — CORFU VISITED EN ROUTE TO ITALY — NAPLES 
AND VESUVIUS — POMPEII, THE RUINED CITY — ROME, 
THE ETERNAL CITY. 

He who would not enjoy Athens must be dull indeed; 
but duller still is the man who is not enthused with Rome, 
the home of the Caesars. The route from Athens was 
across Greece by train. No overland journey thus far 
has been so thrilling as the trip of two hundred and 
twenty-two miles, Athens to Patras, via Elusis and 
Corinth. 

Eleusis is noteworthy as the birthplace of ^Eschylus, 
and because the Thirty Tyrants took refuge there ; but 
of still greater interest is Corinth, a city of about five 
thousand, while Athens, the capital, boasts of more than 
one hundred and twenty-five thousand. During my stay 
in Corinth I did not see a person who could talk Eng- 
lish. I inferred that English-speaking people seldom 
come to Corinth, from the fact that every merchant or 
carriage-driver with whom I desired to transact busi- 
ness sent messengers abroad through the city to find 
some one who could understand my speech. Every mes- 
senger returned with a person speaking another tongue, 
and, after many trials, each gave up the task, shook his 
head, failing as an interpreter. Greece is not on the main 

332 



Athens to Rome. 



333 



traveled route usually taken by "globe-trotters," which 
accounts for the difficulties there encountered. Of those 
who see Greece at all, very few penetrate beyond Athens 
and vicinity. When the Peloponnesus railway reached 
no farther westward than Corinth, that little city was a 
busy center of commerce, but since the road has reached 
Patras on the northwest coast of Achaia, few ships visit 
the old city, and Patras profits by Corinth's loss. 

I was surprised to note that rural Greece is behind 
the younger nations in methods of work. Women were 
plowing with oxen and using old sticks for plows, as 
was observed in India, Syria, and Egypt. Like the In- 
dians and Egyptians, the women carried their laundry to 
a pool, seaside, or river, and pounded or slapped the gar- 
ments upon rocks instead of using a w r ashboard or ma- 
chine. Riding upon a fast train, we were hurried through 
beautiful valleys, alongside dashing mountain streams, 
and beside beautiful placid streams, clear as crystal, and 
through vineyards embracing thousands of acres. 

At Patras were found many whc spoke English. One 
gentleman, who purported to be a guide, said to me, 
"When you come again, let me know a few weeks ago, 
and I will be prepared for you." At Patras I boarded the 
steamer Bosnia, of the Florio Rubatinno Line, bound for 
Brindisi, Italy. Upon many a voyage I had been told 
that a person should always avoid taking passage upon 
any Italian ship. Consequently I entered the ship with 
great concern as to the treatment to be expected. Know- 
ing that I would be out only two nights and one day, I 
felt that I could stand anything that length of time, but 
was surpised to find that my surroundings and treat- 
ment were all that any one could ask. 

The ship anchored in the harbor at Corfu over Sun- 
day, giving us an opportunity to go ashore and attend 



334 



Around the World. 



divine services at the English Church. Corfu is cosmo- 
politan, having as a populace a medley of French, Span- 
ish, Italians, Austrians, Greeks, English, and Syrians. 

Arriving at Brindisi early Monday morning, the cus- 
toms officials were easily passed, and train taken for Na- 
ples, where we arrived within ten hours, the distance 
from Brindisi being two hundred and forty-two miles. 

As volumes would be required to do justice to Naples 
and Rome, I shall limit myself to the presentation of a 
working outline. Naples, with a population of five hun- 
dred and fifty thousand, is known far and wide for its 
beauty. "See Naples and die," is a saying that urges 
one to believe that, when you have seen Naples, you 
have seen all that is worth seeing. 

After visiting the cathedral and the National Museum, 
visitors are usually ready for the ascent of Vesuvius, 
which stands as a Titan guarding the city, the smoke 
from its summit being visible by day, and the light paint- 
ing the heavens at night. On my arrival in Naples I 
was told that the activity of the monster rendered ascent 
too dangerous to be undertaken at present. The Funin- 
cular road, operated by Thos. Cook & Son, was not run- 
ning, consequently I contracted with a guide who was 
to conduct me to the very summit of the cone or forfeit 
the price stipulated. We ascended through ashes that 
blocked the way to any except those who dared to crawl 
over the precipitous slopes. When half way up to the 
smoking summit we encountered an ocean of ashes ap- 
parently only recently thrown out. In reply to my ques- 
tion as to when this train-load of ashes was deposited 
here, he replied, "They were precipitated here only two 
days ago." I at once begged him to return with me, as 
we were compassed on all sides with clouds so that at 
times we could not see each other, and occasionally the 



Athens to Rome. 



335 



poisonous fumes from the crater settled about us. He 
calmly answered my petition by saying: "You do not 
come to Vesuvius every day, and you will be sorry all 
your life if you do not go to the top. It is only a little 
distance to the crater." On we went, passing fissures 
where the molten lava had once poured forth, evidences 
of many a wild cataclysm. After paying four lire (about 
eighty cents) for the privilege of seeing the "Cono At- 
tivo," we ascended to the topmost height, only to be 
turned back at once by a sudden explosion from the 
depths below. My guide said, "Grab my arm," and 
down we went with all speed, sliding through deep ashes 
at times, then gliding over beds of lava, being at all 
times exceedingly careful lest we become overbalanced 
and go tumbling down the side of the cone, which was 
almost perpendicular for a few feet here and there. When 
about one-third of the way down we passed an Italian 
official who was ascending to learn the condition of the 
volcano. The newspapers reported that he encountered 
a shower of ashes and rocks, was severely bruised and 
nearly asphyxiated, and was taken to the Eden Hotel 
in a semi-unconscious condition. The gold of Wall 
Street would not tempt me to ascend Vesuvius again 
when the owners of the Funincular consider the ascent 
too dangerous to operate their road up the mountain side. 
Pompeii sits in a valley half covered with ashes and 
lava, a few miles from the smoking mountain. Vesuvius 
has been active evidently ever since time was young. In 71 
B. C. Sparticus, a Roman gladiator, revolted, and made 
his home in the crater of the then quiet smokestack. The 
eruption that wiped Pompeii from the map occurred in 
79 A. D., the population of the city then numbering 
thirty thousand. After visiting the ruined city, viewing 
its paintings, sculpturing, architecture, etc., a visit to the 



236 Around the World. 

museum near the entrance will be time well spent, for it 
it filled with rare curios which cause the city of two 
thousand years ago to live in the present. 

Leaving Naples, but not forgetting it, we proceed to 
Rome by rail, distant one hundred and sixty-two miles. 
Traces of the historic Appian Way are visible all the 
way from Brindisi to Naples and from Naples to Rome. 

Nearly all are surprised to find such splendid train 
service in Italy, and many, desiring absolute comfort, 
quickly become converts to the excellencies of the cor- 
ridor compartment cars in general use throughout Europe. 

Rome has five hundred thousand people, and is 
bisected by the river Tiber. I shall not attempt to de- 
scribe Rome, as a shelf full of volumes would be re- 
quired to do the Eternal City justice. No one would 
scarcely think of leaving Rome without visiting the 
Forum, which is situated between the Capitoline and the 
Palatine Hills, and contains the Temple of Julius Caesar, 
of Castor, of Saturn, of Vesta, of Romulus, and of Ves- 
pasian, together with thirty-four other points of historic 
interest. 

Probably of greatest interest to a majority of people 
is the Colosseum, pronounced the largest building ever 
erected for popular performances. It was commenced 
by Vespasian, dedicated by Titus, and completed by 
Domitian. After taking Jerusalem, Titus brought to 
Rome a large number of Jews as slaves, and set them 
to work on the Colosseum, and at the dedicatory services 
he is said to have used five thousand wild beasts and 
many captives, all of whom were slain to amuse the 
spectators, who numbered fifty thousand. Bede wrote : 

" While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand ; 
When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall ; 
And when Rome falls, the world." 



Athens to Rome. 



337 



Among the churches in Rome, St. Peter's stands first, 
as well as first in size in all the world. I here present 
the figures showing the length of the world's largest 
edifices for worship. St. Peter's, Rome, 615 feet; Milan 
Cathedral, 444 feet; St. Paul's, London, 510 feet; and 
St. Sophia, Constantinople, 354 feet. I ascended to the 
summit of the tower of St. Peter's, an elevation of 448 
feet, where the best view of Rome was secured. 

The Vatican, the home of the pope, is alongside the 
great church, and is said to contain ten thousand rooms 
and to cover thirteen acres, and is pronounced the "most 
imposing palace in the world." The Vatican paintings, 
regarded as the finest collection in the world, attract a 
constant stream of humanity. The celebrated masterpiece 
of Michael Angelo, "The Last Judgment," is behind the 
altar in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, and is by far 
the most popular of the numerous works of the masters. 

A visit to the Pantheon and Catacombs will not be 
overlooked even by those whose time is limited. 

The average American does not spend more than a 
week in Rome, which is ample time to visit the points 
of interest herein mentioned. Some, however, hurry 
through in two days, getting little more than confused 
ideas. 



22 



XXV 
ROME TO LONDON. 

VIA MILAN, THE LAKE REGION, ST. GOTHARD, AND LUCERNE 
— SWITZERLAND THE BEAUTIFUL — FALLS OE THE 
RHINE AT SCHAEFHAUSEN — GERMANY VISITED — ON TO 
PARIS AND LONDON. 

Stop-over privileges on through tickets are all that 
any one could ask, allowing break of journey anywhere. 

Milan, a city of four hundred and fifty thousand, 
with its world-famous Duomo, or cathedral, could not 
be passed unvisited. The Duomo is pronounced by Mac- 
millan "one of the most impressive ecclesiastical edifices 
in the world." Built of white marble, crowned with one 
hundred and six pinnacles and two thousand statues, it 
will accommodate forty thousand people. Eustice says : 
"Inferior only to St. Peter's, it equals in length, and in 
breadth surpasses, the cathedral at Florence and St. 
Paul's ; in the interior elevation it yields to both ; in fret- 
work, carving, and statues, it goes beyond all the churches 
in the world, St. Peter's itself not excepted." 

From Milan the route selected led northward via 
Lakes Como and Lugano, two crystal-like jewels that 
beautify the mountainous landscape. Hastening north- 
ward, St. Gothard Tunnel, nine and one-quarter miles in 
length, is threaded, requiring twenty minutes. Desiring 
to protect this most gigantic piece of engineering of the 
century, the Swiss have erected extensive fortifications 

338 



Rome to London. 



339 



at each end, protecting' a hole in the ground. Almost 
as interesting as St. Gothard itself are the seven spiral 
tunnels traversed on this route, each tunnel about one 
mile in length. Near Gurtnellen is the last spiral tunnel, 
four thousand nine hundred feet in length. The train 
enters below, and, with two shrieking, puffing engines, 
climbs up the spiral like a huge fire-and-smoke-breath- 
ing serpent, and emerges from the mountain one hundred 
and twenty feet above the entrance. While riding the 
circuit of ascent, passengers amuse themselves watching 
the compass swing entirely around. It is needless to 
state that such rich and unique experiences, together 
with an abundance of enchanting mountain scenery when 
the outside world is reached, preclude the possibility of 
the trip through Switzerland being rendered dull for a 
single moment. 

The ticket being good from Fliielen to Lucerne, by 
either rail or steamer, I chose the steamer, and made the 
journey of more than twenty miles surrounded by moun- 
tain scenery presenting an ever-changing panorama as 
the speeding steamer zigzagged across the lake, picking 
up and discharging passengers at many towns nestling 
among the foothills on either shore. Kussnacht and Im- 
mensee, familiar names in German story, were passed at 
a distance, and Lucerne was reached after a three-hours' 
journey. Lucerne has a population of about thirty thou- 
sand, and is called the "Tourist Capital of Switzerland." 

After visiting the "Lion" designed by Thorwaldsen 
and carved out of the living rock, many ascend the Rigi, 
or "hog-back," that rises between Lakes Lucerne, Zug, 
and Lowerz ; but I viewed it from a distance, and sped on 
in a few hours to Bale, a city of one hundred and twelve 
thousand, situated on both banks of the Rhine, the pride 
of all Europe. From Bale I made a side-trip of fifty- 



240 Around the World. 

eight miles, via the Baden Railroad, to the Falls of the 
Rhine at Schaffhausen. The falls are three hundred and 
fifty feet wide and sixty feet high, and are the Niagara 
Falls of Europe. Two roads are operated between Bale 
and the Rhine Falls, one being on the Germany side and 
the other on the Switzerland side. I booked by the 
southern road going and by the northern returning, the 
usual custom. 

After making an interesting excursion northward into 
Germany to see the famous Strassburg clock, I again 
journeyed westward, arriving in Paris, the "gayest city 
on earth," where the poodle dog and the innocent babe 
are contending in an apparently unequal contest for pre- 
cedence, and where fashion holds high carnival seven 
days in the week. 

The visitor will not fail to tour the Champs Elysees, 
the Parisians' most popular promenade and pleasure 
grounds, situated just west of the Tuileries and Place 
de la Concorde. Chairs are numerous under the shade- 
trees, and apparently free, until a fair damsel appears 
from the direction of the Arc de Triomphe and triumph- 
antly collects ten centimes for permission to continue to 
occupy till she considers it time to collect again. 

Of all the cash expended in seeing Paris, none is 
more productive of results than the four francs (80 cents) 
paid for ascending the Eiffel Tower, whose height is 
an even one thousand feet, its base covering four acres. 
It is estimated that ten thousand persons may find elbow 
room upon the platforms of this skyscraper at one time, 
"without occasioning any undue crowding." Ascending 
this modern Babel is absolutely exciting, bewildering, 
indescribable. Twice as high as the Washington Monu- 
ment, its summit plays with the clouds. The view from 
that dizzy height will never be forgotten. The Seine 



Rome to London. 



341 



curves from the foot of the tower through the great city 
in the shape of a crescent; then diminishes on either side 
to a silvery thread, and vanishes in the distance. Paris, 
the City of Magnificent Palaces, draws itself up around 
the feet of the giant, permitting the vision to wander 
far beyond the city's apparently shrunken walls, over the 
diminutive farms and villages, to a horizon that makes 
no apology for its distant position. What a splendid 
opportunity is here afforded to survey the city and locate 
its chief points of interest ! Just across the Seine to the 
west is the Trocadero Palace, with its graceful crescent 
wings reaching out as if to embrace the artificial lake in 
front. Directly north stands the Arc de Triomphe, one 
hundred and fifty-eight feet in height, erected by Napo- 
leon commemorative of his victories. This pile cost 
9,000,000 francs and bears the names of three hundred 
and eighty-six French generals who were associated with 
Napoleon in thirty victorious battles. East of the Arc de 
Triomphe is the beautiful Madeleine, commenced in 1764 
and completed in 1842, at a cost of $3,000,000. It was 
built as a Temple of Glory, and dedicated to soldiers of 
the Grand Army, but in 18 16 was changed to church 
usages. It is surrounded with fifty-two Corinthian col- 
umns, fifty feet high. Near the Madeleine is the Column 
de Vendome, one hundred and thirty-five feet in height, 
constructed of stone and covered with the metal of one 
thousand two hundred and fifty cannon taken by Napo- 
leon from the Russians and Austrians. South of the 
Vendome is a beautiful garden called Tuileries, marking 
the site of the Royal and Imperial Palace from 1464 to 
1871, when it was destroyed by the Communists. Along- 
side the Tuileries is the Louvre, consisting of galleries, 
containing the largest and best collection of works of 



342 Around the World. 

art in France. North of the Louvre and south of the 
Bourse is the Palais-Royal, second only to the Boule- 
vards as a promenade ground. East of the Eiffel Tower 
and south of the Seine are the Luxembourg Palace and 
Galleries, a part of which is not accessible to the public, 
being occupied by the Senate. Opposite the Luxem- 
bourg stands the Pantheon, used as a Temple of Glory, 
having been damaged in 1871 by Prussian shells. It 
contains the tombs of Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Presi- 
dent Carnot, and other noted Frenchmen. 

Northwest of the Pantheon, situated upon an island 
in the Seine is the Notre Dame Cathedral, began in 1160 
and completed in the thirteenth century. It is built en- 
tirely on piles, and is two hundred and forty-six feet in 
height. In 1793, during the Revolution, it was converted 
into a Temple of Reason, and the "presiding goddess, 
the wife of one of the Communists, rewarded devout 
worshipers with a kiss." Here Napoleon I and the Em- 
press Josephine were crowned in 1804. Its pipe-organ 
is said to be the finest in the world, having six thousand 
pipes and eighty-six stops. The Communists set fire to 
this building in 1871, but the damage has been repaired. 
Here France crowned the majority of her kings. Be- 
hind the cathedral is the Morgue, where I saw five per- 
sons, men and women, who had tired of life, and, having 
leaped into the Seine, had been fished out and put on 
exhibition to be claimed by the next of kin. 

But let us bid Paris good-bye and hasten northward 
to the world's commercial metropolis, London. Leaving 
Paris at 8.40 A. M., Boulogne was reached at n.59, 
and Folkestone, England at 2 P. M., after a very tem- 
pestuous ride across the English Channel that reminded 
me, in a slight measure, of my first experience on the 



Rome to London. 



343 



Pacific six months ago. Of that entire train-load of 
passengers, I think that all were seasick excepting four 
of us. For at least an hour of the crossing, the surging 
waters rolled over the rocking side-wheeler, making it a 
real effort for us four "toughened old sailors" to keep 
entirely settled our Parisian breakfasts. Since the con- 
ditions outside would permit no passengers to be upon 
the deck, it may be needless to remark that the cabins' 
carpets presented a sight that might be compared favor- 
ably with the streets of Tiberias. 

The first sign of commercial life noticed, as we ap- 
proached Britain's shore, was a large sign that seemed 
to rise from the waves, saying in large, bold, black let- 
ters, "Eat Quaker Oats." If appearances were not de- 
ceiving, I am confident that a sign "Never Bat Again' 3 
would have been more conducive to quiet of mind and 
body than the one so much in evidence. Setting foot 
upon terra firma, train was taken, and Charing Cross 
Station, in London, reached one hour and forty-five min- 
utes later, where conveyances, decidedly English, were in 
waiting to transfer us to our choice of hotels. I was 
soon registered at the New Waverly, well located, one 
block from the British Museum, the chief object of in- 
terest drawing me to London. When it is announced 
that a feline lifetime may be spent profitably in the Brit- 
ish Museum, it may not be saying too much to remark 
that the most hasty tourist should spend several days in 
seeing London. The British Museum is open from 10 
A. M. to 4 P. M., and covers seven acres of ground; ad- 
mission free. 

I attended divine services in Westminster Abbey, 
noted as the Coronation Church for the sovereigns of 
England and as the "burial-place of her most illustrious 



344 Around the World. 

dead." Descriptive of Westminster, Waller penned these 
lines : 

" That antique pile behold 

Where royal heads, receive the sacred gold ; 

It gives them crowns, and does their ashes keep ; 

There made like gods, like mortals there they sleep." 

Washington Irving wrote : "On entering, we feel 
that we are surrounded by the congregated bones of the 
great men of past times, who have filled history with 
their deeds, and earth with their renown." In the Poets' 
Corner, among England's greatest, room was found for 
the bust of America's favorite poet, Henry W. Long- 
fellow. Alongside slabs commemorative of Chaucer, 
Milton, Addison, Southey, Coleridge, Browning, and 
Shakespeare, American genius has a place of recognition. 

Of more interest to me than the tomb of Mary Queen 
of Scots, and those of all other crowned heads, was the 
Chapel of the Pyx, which is opened by seven keys, and 
only by special permission from the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the 
Comptroller of the Exchequer. This chapel, under seven 
locks, contained the ancient treasury of the kings of Eng- 
land, and now contains the standards of gold and silver 
which are used every year for testing the justness of 
weight in the coins issued from the British mint. 

The New Palace of Westminster, costing $15,000,000 
to construct, containing the Houses of Parliament, is 
more imposing than the ancient Westminster Abbey, and 
stands upon the Thames embankment. 

Of indescribable interest to every visitor is the Tower 
of London. Here I saw the crown jewels that had been 
used since 16 10. The crown of the late Queen Victoria 
occupies the highest position, and contains 2,783 dia- 
monds, 277 pearls, 5 rubies, 17 sapphires, and 11 emer- 



Rome to London. 



345 



aids. Many of these jewels have been used in crowns 
made for coronations since the time of Charles II. Re- 
galias used by the Mary's, the Henry's, and the Edwards's 
are on exhibition, even to the garter with its motto, "Honi 
soit qui mal y pense." (Dishonored be he who thinks 
ill of it.) 

Among the most noted persons who suffered impris- 
onment in the Tower of London are the following: 
Queen Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII ; David 
Bruce, king of Scotland ; Edward V ; Queen Elizabeth ; 
Lady Jane Grey ; Henry VI ; Queen Katherine Howard, 
a wife of Henry VIII ; Sir Thomas More ; and Sir Walter 
Raleigh. 

Of special interest in the Tower are the specimens of 
weapons and war-gear used by British soldiers since 
"Knighthood was in Flower." 

I attended a service in St. Paul's Cathedral, where 
cash was being collected preparatory to work on Easter 
decoration. This mammoth pile was designed by Sir 
Christopher Wren. A marble slab in the crypt bears the 
following inscription : "If you would see his monument, 
look about you." 

The parks, galleries, bridges, and other points that 
should not be missed, will be seen by the traveler en route 
to the objects of greatest interest herein set forth. Lon- 
don, the world's metropolis, with its extremes of poverty 
and opulence, its cosmopolitan mixture of millions, has 
stood for a century as a mighty regulator of the com- 
mercial pulse-beat of the nations, exchange on London 
being in demand the world round. But the time is not far 
distant when the course of commerce and the marts of 
trade will establish the commercial center of the world 
three thousand miles westward across the trackless ocean. 



XXVI 
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC. 

LIVERPOOL TO NEW YORK — ABOARD THE CEDRIC, THE LARG- 
EST SHIP AFLOAT — LIFE AT SEA. 

AFTER a four days' sojourn in London, the largest 
city on earth, I was ready for the three-thousand-mile 
journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving Euston Sta- 
tion at noon on Good Friday, April ioth, by special train, 
Liverpool was reached at 3.30 o'clock, where the mam- 
moth steamship Cedric, of the White Star Line, the larg- 
est steamship ever built, was waiting for her London 
passengers. The train halted alongside the floating 
giant, and in a few moments we were on board. At five 
o'clock the floating city with its twenty-five hundred pas- 
sengers was loosed from her moorings, and, by the help 
of tugs, was pointed towards New York. Saturday 
morning at 9 o'clock Queenstown, Ireland, was reached, 
where an ordinary shipload of additional passengers was 
taken, and in two hours anchor was hoisted, allowing this 
overgrown canoe to nose her way out of the narrows into 

" The sea, the sea, the open sea ! 
The blue, the fresh, the ever free ! 
Without a mark, with a bound, 
It runneth the earth's wild regions round; 
It plays with the clouds, it mocks the skies ; 
Or like a cradled creature lies." 

It is now Friday. A week has slipped away since 
we left Liverpool, and New York is not yet in sight, nor 

346 



Crossing the Atlantic. -547 

shall we see its suspension bridge till to-morrow, as we 
have taken the southern course, which is much longer 
than the northern. The reason for this extraordinary 
southern sweep is due to our having met the Oceanic 
when a day out from Queenstown, from which vessel 
signals were received informing us that icebergs were 
thick and dangerous on the northern route. If a com- 
mander is afraid of any one thing it is an iceberg. I am 
informed that one of those cold creatures was sighted 
from this ship. I did not see it, however, as I am not 
hunting cold sights or cold people. 

A few words about this house in which I have lived 
the past week may be valuable news to those who have 
never "gone down to sea in ships." The Cedric is the 
largest steamship in the world, having been built by 
Messrs. Harland and Wolf at Belfast, Ireland, a country 
that deserves better treatment than it has received at 
the hands of England. And let me state right here, by 
the way of parenthesis, that there are several passengers 
from the heart of old England among the twenty-five 
hundred on this ship who say they believe England is 011 
the decline, and that they are coming to what they con- 
sider the foremost country of the earth, America. 

Three years ago the Oceanic was the largest, but she 
was eclipsed by the Celtic about a year ago, which is 
nearly three thousand tons larger than the Oceanic. 
The Cedric surpasses the Celtic and rides the deep as the 
king of ships. She is 700 feet long, displaces 38,200 tons 
of water, can carry 18,400 tons of freight, and comfort- 
ably carry the inhabitants of a city with a population of 
3,350. The Cedric cost $2,500,000, and has nine decks 
for passenger accommodation. What think you of living 
on one of nine flats, one above the other, through which 
four huge masts and two mammoth funnels tower? Add 



348 Around the World. 

to this the thought that each village is electric-lighted, 
and the entire layer cake is bolted or riveted together, 
and set down like a duck in the water, and commanded 
to "sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish." 

I had supposed that no one would become seasick on 
a plank of this size, but I am forced to chronicle that 
several have been confined to their rooms the entire trip, 
too sick for appearance in the dining-room. True to 
general principles, I have been ready for that which the 
gong announced ever since the second day out from Van- 
couver, thirty thousand miles ago. There are passengers 
on board for nearly every State in the Union, and some, 
not a few, on account of a proposed union, are going from 
the single to the thrice-happy married state. Some of the 
affianced are promenading hand in hand as they near 
the promised land, while others have their faces entirely 
hidden under one fascinator as they quietly converse each 
with the other, relating their plans, hopes, and aspirations 
on beginning life side by side in a new land, where every 
man is king and every woman is queen, whether the 
purse contains a dollar or a million ; where citizenship 
depends not upon horses and lands, but upon character, 
loyalty and obedience to law ; where every person is per- 
mitted to worship God according to the dictates of his 
own conscience. Blessed country ! Long may she live 
to attract to her shores the best sons and daughters of 
earth ! 

" Breathes there a man with soul so dead 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land? 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 
As home his footsteps he hath turned, 
From wandering on a foreign strand ?" 

He who, as an American, has never seen the world 
as it is, has no conception of the greatness of his own 



Crossing the Atlantic. 349 

country. Throughout the length and breadth of the earth 
America is referred to as an earthly paradise, and he who 
would drive a dagger into the throbbing heart of such a 
country should be branded as an international criminal; 
for it is being said to-day, "As goes America, so goes 
the earth." 

My closest associate on this journey to New York 
is the editor of a leading paper of England who says : 
"England is dependent in a great measure upon America ; 
for if American foods were shut off, England would 
starve in only a few weeks. We are raising less wheat 
and corn because we can not compete with the vast acres 
of America." 

Let the poet speak : 

" Up aloft amid the rigging sings the fresh exulting gale, 
Strong as springtime in the blossoms, filling out each blowing 

sail; 
And the wild waves, cleft behind us, seem to murmur as they 

flow: 
There are kindly hearts that wait you in the land to which you go. 
Rolling home, rolling home, rolling home, dear land to thee, 
Rolling home from merry England, rolling home across the sea." 

If I were at home, and my loved ones were out alone 
upon this seemingly endless race, so fraught with dan- 
ger, I would feel most like saying: 

" O, ye beloved, come home — the hour, 
The hour of many a greeting tone, 
The time of heartlight and of song, 
Returns, and ye are gone. 

And darkly, heavily it falls 

On the forsaken room, 
Burdening the heart with tenderness 

That deepens 'midst the gloom. 



350 Around the World. 

Still, when the prayer is said, 

For thee kind bosoms yearn, 
For thee fond tears are shed — 

O, when wilt thou return ?" 

We have splendid weather for the Atlantic voyage, 
only one day being sufficiently rough to cause the navi- 
gating officer to enter in the logbook the words "heavy 
gale." At the beginning of the gale this floating palace 
began to strike a sort of a gallop, whereupon not a few 
showed evidences of having taken an emetic. One lady, 
while standing in the companion-way, made much use of 
her kerchief in trying to stay the flood tide of tears which 
came unbidden in spite of all that she could do as she 
looked out upon the bobbing waves. She, no doubt, 
thought the ship would soon find rest upon the ocean 
floor below, and that she would then sleep with the other 
brave hearts that never reached port. That gale was not 
even interesting to me, for it should not be ranked even 
as a little dog trotting along under a wagon in compari- 
son with that real article to which reference was made 
while crossing the Pacific. 

Looking out upon the deep for a sight of land, land 
birds are now seen, indicating that we shall not have 
long to wait. Darkness falls about us, barring the pos- 
sibility of landing before to-morrow. But look yonder ! 
A light from Fire Island pours out a line of beams which 
produce rejoicing, and I call upon the poet to voice our 
thought : 

" Speed, speed, my fleet vessel, the shore is in sight, 
The breezes are fair, we shall anchor to-night, 
To-morrow at sunrise once more I shall stand 
On the sea-beaten shore of my dear native land." 

The anchor was dropped at 10.30 off Sandy Hook to 
await sunrise. By 10 o'clock on the morrow we had 



Crossing the Atlantic. -251 

landed and passed the customs official. One lady was 
fined $200 for trying to smuggle lace. She will not try 
it again. A gentleman, desiring to bring a silk dress for 
his wife without paying the duty, wrapped the goods 
about his body under his garments, and thus evaded com- 
plying with the law, no official knowing other than that 
his corpulency might be natural and not artificial. He 
may be overtaken by justice at the bar of final judgment 
by being made to wear that identical dress in the grand 
promenade booked by the eschatologist as sure to occur. 
Six months have passed since I have seen this land 
of liberty, and ten years have registered the flight of 
time since I have seen this Eastern shore, and I feel most 
like letting the poet speak : 

" I 'm back again ! I 'm back again ! 
My foot is on the shore ; 
I tread the bright and grassy plain 
Of my native home once more ! 

Hail, native clime ! hail, native clime ! 

Land of the brave and free ! 
Though long estranged thy exile ranged, 

His heart comes back to thee." 

And now I turn and bid adieu to the highway upon 
which I have spent many interesting as well as exciting 
days. 

" Mysterious deep — farewell ! 
I turn from thy companship, but lo ! 
Thy voice doth follow me. 'Mid lonely bower, 
Or twilight dream, or wakeful couch, I hear 
That solemn and reverberated hymn 
From thy deep organ which doth speak God's praise 
In thunder, night and day. Still by my side, 
Even as a dim-seen spirit, deign to walk, 
Prompter of holy thought and type of Him, 
Sleepless, immutable, ommipotent." 



The Author has given his 

Around the World 
Lecture 

in several States, illustrated with 
one hundred and sixty stereop- 
ticon views, picturing the Globe 
Encircling Tour. 



For terms, dates, etc., address 
the author. 



APR 25 1904 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 648 985 8 







